ABSTRACT
The impact of new technologies has been felt both from the individual and collective perspectives of labour relations. As far as the individual working relationship is concerned, the impact which new technologies have had on the recruitment of employees is already well known, namely in the first instance, by increasing the number of cases in which apparently autonomous service providers are hired, hiding a real working relationship. In the second instance, the aggravation of the subordination bond perpetrated through the application of technological control instruments, which indiscriminately control the employee’s activity. The legislator has not yet provided a satisfactory response to these consequences, which have, for years, threatened the protection to which the employee is entitled. Even less, the legislator has regarded the impact of new technologies into the contract execution. This paper addresses the risks and benefits which could be offered by the implementation of the technology, usually based on the “blockchain”, into the employment contract. Blockchain technology is now being used to ensure the execution of standardised contracts built according to the employer’s interest. This technology provides efficiency and legal security to the employer. However, blockchain implementation may increase the risk of imposing abusive conditions, a risk which is aggravated by guaranteed automatic execution. From all the foregoing aspects, the need to review the applicable legal framework of the contract is deduced, as is the reinforcement of the information duty of the employer.
