A UK-EU youth mobility scheme could feed a generation into exploitative gig work

21 May 2025, 13:06 | Updated: 21 May 2025, 13:12

The UK–EU Youth Mobility Scheme offers real promise.

It could give young people the freedom to live, travel and work across borders. But without stronger protections, it risks feeding a generation into an online gig economy built on broken promises and systemic exploitation.

This kind of work, also known as cloudwork, involves remote, task-based jobs like transcription, data labelling, software development or design. It’s a go-to option for many looking for flexible income. The World Bank estimates up to 435 million people worldwide are already working this way — and young people are far more likely to be drawn to it. Especially those travelling, who are often enticed by the low barriers to entry and the freedom to earn from anywhere with Wi-Fi. It’s a booming $647 billion industry. But the reality? Many go unpaid, unprotected and unseen.

Behind the promise of freedom lies something far more sinister.

According to new research from the University of Oxford’s Fairwork project, most of the world’s biggest platforms — including Fiverr, Upwork and Amazon Mechanical Turk - are failing to guarantee even the most basic labour standards to workers. Just 25% ensure that workers earn the local minimum wage. Nearly a third of workers report not being paid for completed jobs. More than half include contract clauses that actively undermine workers’ rights. This isn’t flexibility. It’s exploitation — and it’s happening at scale.

If we want the Youth Mobility Scheme to unlock genuine opportunity, not just a pipeline into hustle work, we need to act now. The scheme itself isn’t the issue. But without proper oversight, it risks becoming a gateway to insecure online labour.

Governments and regulators must step in. That means holding platforms accountable through global standards, tougher due diligence laws and stronger protections like the EU’s 2024 Platform Work Directive. It’s a good start, but nowhere near enough. Workers need minimum pay guarantees, clear contracts, real ways to challenge mistreatment and enforcement bodies with the power to make it happen.

Let’s stop mistaking “work from anywhere” for fair work. The Youth Mobility Scheme can open doors but only if we also shut the ones that lead to exploitation. This is more than mobility; it’s a moment to push for a fairer, more accountable gig economy that works for young people not against them.

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Prof Mark Graham is the Director of Fairwork and Professor of Internet Geography at the Oxford Internet Institute.

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