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Becker, Eleni De, Paul Schoukens & Enzo Weber (2024): Exploring unemployment insurance for the self-employed and platform workers: How to navigate difficult waters? A comparative, conceptual and European perspective. In: European Journal of Social Security, Jg. 26, H. 2, S. 97-108., 2024-08-01. DOI:10.1177/13882627241267993

Abstract

"This special issue of the European Journal of Social Security explores the complexities of extending unemployment insurance to the self-employed and platform workers in the EU Member States and the steps taken at EU level to enforce the protection offered at national level. Traditionally, social security systems have been designed for standard employment relationships, leaving a typical workers and the self-employed inadequately protected. The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), adopted in 2017, and the subsequent 2019 Recommendation on access to social protection have marked a shift towards more inclusive social security frameworks. However, significant gaps in coverage remain, in particular with regard to unemployment protection for the self-employed and platform workers. The special issue is divided into three parts: national perspectives, comparative studies and EU-level discussions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Becker, Eleni De (2024): The principle of adequate social protection in the European Pillar of Social Rights: Assessing the instruments used to realise its potential. In: European Journal of Social Security, Jg. 26, H. 2, S. 284-304. DOI:10.1177/13882627241254613

Abstract

"Improving the social security protection of atypical workers has been high on the EU agenda in recent years. With the adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights in 2017, the EU wished to break away from a decade of austerity measures. The EU further developed the right to adequate social protection in the Pillar through the Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed. This instrument urges EU Member States to ensure adequate access to social protection for workers, regardless of their employment relationship, and the self-employed. As part of the EU's recovery strategy during and after the Covid-19 crisis, several financial instruments were developed to support EU Member States. Through the Temporary Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency, EU Member States received support for job retention schemes. The EU also adopted the Recovery Resilience Facility, which provided grants and loans. Another support instrument was the European Social Fund Plus. This article discusses those recent EU initiatives, focusing on unemployment and the protection of atypical workers and the self-employed. With the introduction of the European Employment Strategy (1997), a closer link was made at EU level between unemployment, increasing labour market participation and activation measures. Less attention was paid to ensuring adequate unemployment protection. In recent years, however, it appears that the EU has been playing an increasing role in providing funding for temporary support and in introducing changes to EU Member States' policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Mišič, Luka & Grega Strban (2024): Atypical work and residence in cross-border situations: The coordination of unemployment benefits. In: European Journal of Social Security, Jg. 26, H. 2, S. 266-283. DOI:10.1177/13882627241255023

Abstract

"This article analyses the potential challenges related to the coordination of unemployment benefits under European Union law for persons whose employment or other economic activities and living arrangements are, in one way or another, dispersed across the territories of several EU Member States. Starting from the traditional cases of frontier workers and other cross-border (or mobile) workers, on the one hand, and remote work or telework, on the other, the article looks at the potential future of free movement in the EU under Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 and its implementing regulation, Regulation (EC) No. 987/2009. New forms of work and work organisation, alongside new mobility and residency patterns, challenge the basic rules of lex loci laboris (the country of employment is competent) and lex loci domicilii (the country of residence is competent), especially when they collide in a single case. At the same time, unemployment benefits, which are at the heart of this debate, still remain subject to specific coordination (e.g. competence) rules that depart from the general legislation, possibly making effective provision in such cases even more difficult. The article gives a diverse collection of theoretical examples in which cross-border situations are either in themselves atypical and complex, or accompanied and made possible by new forms of work or work organisation, causing specific problems for the adequate and appropriate provision of unemployment benefits." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Santoni, Michele (2023): How do Bureaucratic Budget Competition and Collective Bargaining Affect the Share of Temporary Employment? In: Journal of institutional and theoretical economics, Jg. 179, H. 2, S. 381-411. DOI:10.1628/jite-2023-0025

Abstract

"This paper will present a two-period model in which two bureau-union units, due to the presence of a tenured labour constraint, negotiate sequentially over employment and wages, under the hypotheses that the bureaus maximise output and the sponsor can commit itself to an overall budget. The paper will show that, when both tenured and temporary workers are essential in production, the extent and strength of collective bargaining power of unionised permanent workers, jointly with bureaucratic strategic incentives in budget competition, will determine a suboptimal allocation of inputs. As a result, strategic over-hiring of permanent workers may emerge in symmetric equilibrium." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Mohr Siebeck) ((en))

Abstract

"The overall purpose of this study is to support the European Commission in its 2022 evaluation of the 2014 Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships (QFT). Eight years on from the introduction of the QFT, the evaluation provides an opportunity to assess the impact of its implementation and explore whether any adaptations or adjustments are required. The review of the QFT was defined as an action in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, adopted at the Porto Summit in March 2021. The study supporting the evaluation aims specifically to: establish what works and what does not work (and why) in terms of adequate QFT implementation; describe the current situation in terms of traineeships across the EU and the main developments since 2014; assess the extent to which the 2014 Council Recommendation on the QFT is effective, efficient, coherent, brings EU added value and is relevant to current needs. The scope of the evaluation is the EU in its present composition of 27 Member States. The time span covered is the period from Q4 2014 to Q4 2021. The study focuses on open market traineeships (OMTs) and those that fall under Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs), thereby excluding work experience placements that are part of curricula of formal education or vocational education and training; and traineeships regulated under national law and whose completion is a mandatory requirement to access a specific profession (e.g., medicine, architecture, etc.)." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Orfao, Guillermo, Alberto del Rey & Miguel Ángel Malo (2021): A Multidimensional Approach to Precarious Employment Among Young Workers in EU-28 Countries. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 158, H. 3, S. 1153-1178. DOI:10.1007/s11205-021-02734-3

Abstract

"This article uses a new multidimensional indicator to measure precariousness among young workers across all EU-28 countries. This indicator measures both the incidence and intensity of precariousness. The analysis has involved five dimensions: wages, type of contract, type of working day, disempowerment, and job insecurity. Our database is the European Union Labour Force Survey for the period 2009–2016. The main indication of precariousness is low wages. We find high rates of precariousness for Mediterranean countries (because of low wages and temporary contracts), Denmark (low wages), and the Netherlands (expansion of involuntary part-time jobs). Central European countries have moderate rates, and most Continental and Eastern countries have low rates. We also find that a higher level of education is related to a lower probability of having a precarious job. Finally, we find a greater probability of having a precarious job among women in most countries, and non-statistically significant differences by country of birth." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Brook, Paul & Christina Purcell (2020): The resistible rise of the temporary employment industry in France. In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 41, H. 1, S. 121-144. DOI:10.1177/0143831X17695439

Abstract

"This article is an historical account of the contested growth of the temporary employment agency sector in France. It utilises a variegated capitalism conceptual framework to explain the evolution of a distinctive temporary employment agency sector and regulatory environment under French politico-institutional conditions that was contingent upon global developments. The article charts the role of large agencies in constructing a market for agency labour despite wide-scale cultural, political and trade union opposition. In order to build legitimacy, agencies sought partners in the labour movement from the late 1960s onwards. By the late 1990s, the sector had grown significantly within a gradually more permissive regulatory framework, despite ongoing but fragmenting opposition. The article demonstrates that the growth of agency labour was not an inevitable outcome of global pressure for labour market deregulation. It also reveals how national regulatory institutions alone are not a sufficient bulwark against global labour market pressures." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Mandl, Irene (2020): New forms of employment. 2020 update. (Eurofound research report / European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions), Dublin, 64 S. DOI:10.2806/278670

Abstract

"Although standard employment (generally fulltime and permanent) remains the dominant employment type across the EU, European labour markets are increasingly characterised by a variety of different forms. These new forms of employment involve new formal employment relationships or work patterns (linked to aspects such as place of work, working time or use of ICT) and sometimes both. This report puts the spotlight on nine innovative employment forms across the 27 EU Member States, Norway and the UK. It examines the policy frameworks of each country, as well as mapping the scale and scope of the incidence of these new forms and highlighting the main opportunities and risks associated with each form. The report concludes with some policy recommendations taking into account the future of work that will be shaped by the twin transition to the digital age and a carbon-neutral economy, as well as a new way of working due to COVID-19." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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(2020): Ausbeutung mobiler Beschäftigter in der EU. (Arbeitsmarkt aktuell 2020,06), Berlin, 9 S.

Abstract

"Mobile Beschäftigte in Europa, also Arbeitnehmer*innen, deren Aufenthalt im Ausland nicht auf Dauer angelegt ist, sind keineswegs eine homogene Gruppe. Je nach Beschäftigtengruppe (z.B. Entsendung, Saisonarbeit, Arbeitnehmerfreizügigkeit) sind die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen für sie sehr vielfältig. Einige Branchen weisen einen besonders hohen Einsatz mobiler Beschäftigter auf, wie etwa der Bau, die Landwirtschaft, der Straßentransport, die häusliche Betreuung und die Fleischindustrie. Die Corona-Krise hat die jahrelang währenden Missstände bei der Beschäftigung mobiler Arbeitnehmer*innen für die breite Öffentlichkeit sichtbar gemacht. Die Umstände, auf die Arbeitnehmer*innen aus anderen Ländern treffen, sind katastrophal, wie massenhafte Covid-19-Infektionen bei den Beschäftigten in Fleischverarbeitungsfabriken und in der Landwirtschaft, unzureichender Arbeitsschutz und die Unterbringung in überfüllten und menschenunwürdigen Unterkünften bezeugen. Verschiedene Mitgliedstaaten haben daraufhin Initiativen ergriffen, wie etwa das Arbeitsschutzkontrollgesetz in Deutschland. Auch die EU-Kommission hat Leitfäden und Aktionspläne zur Verbesserung der Arbeitsbedingungen mobiler Beschäftigter vorgelegt und die deutsche Ratspräsidentschaft verabschiedete im Oktober 2020 dementsprechende Ratsschlussfolgerungen. Der DGB setzt sich für die Verbesserung der Arbeitsbedingungen mobiler Beschäftigter auf nationaler und europäischer Ebene ein. Darüber hinaus stellt er Arbeitnehmer*innen aus dem Ausland über das Projekt „Faire Mobilität“ Beratungsmöglichkeiten in ihrer Muttersprache zur Verfügung. Es ist höchste Zeit nachhaltig und dauerhaft für bessere Arbeits- und Wohnverhältnisse für die verschiedenen Beschäftigtengruppen zu sorgen. Initiativen auf nationaler Ebene müssen dabei zwingend von europäischen verbindlichen Maßnahmen flankiert werden. Der DGB schlägt hierfür übergreifende Lösungen vor, die sich weder bestimmten Beschäftigtengruppen widmen, noch begrenzt auf bestimmte Branchen festgelegt werden. Diese zielen auf die Unterkunftsbedingungen, den Sozialversicherungsschutz, die Vermittlungstätigkeiten, den unklaren Status der Beschäftigten und Arbeitgeber sowie grenzüberschreitende Rechtsdurchsetzung und Kontrollen ab." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Blanchflower, David G. (2019): Not working: Where have all the good jobs gone? Princeton Univ. Press 440 S.

Abstract

"Don't trust low unemployment numbers as proof that the labor market is doing fine - it isn't. Not Working is about those who can't find full-time work at a decent wage - the underemployed - and how their plight is contributing to widespread despair, a worsening drug epidemic, and the unchecked rise of right-wing populism. In this revelatory and outspoken book, David Blanchflower draws on his acclaimed work in the economics of labor and well-being to explain why today's postrecession economy is vastly different from what came before. He calls out our leaders and policymakers for failing to see the Great Recession coming, and for their continued failure to address one of the most unacknowledged social catastrophes of our time. Blanchflower shows how many workers are underemployed or have simply given up trying to find a well-paying job, how wage growth has not returned to prerecession levels despite rosy employment indicators, and how general prosperity has not returned since the crash of 2008.
Standard economic measures are often blind to these forgotten workers, which is why Blanchflower practices the 'economics of walking about' - seeing for himself how ordinary people are faring under the recovery, and taking seriously what they say and do. Not Working is his candid report on how the young and the less skilled are among the worst casualties of underemployment, how immigrants are taking the blame, and how the epidemic of unhappiness and self-destruction will continue to spread unless we deal with it." (Publisher's text, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Franic, Ramona & Tihana Kovacicek (2019): The professional status of rural women in the EU. Study. Brüssel, 66 S. DOI:10.2861/185854

Abstract

"This study, commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, gives an overview of the professional status of rural women in the EU, as well as their employment situation and position in the labour market in rural areas in most relevant Member States. The study provides identification of the best practices implemented in the Member States and concludes with policy recommendations on the improvement of the employment situation and legal status of women living in rural areas of the EU." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Aleksynska, Mariya (2018): Temporary employment, work quality, and job satisfaction. In: Journal of Comparative Economics, Jg. 46, H. 3, S. 722-735. DOI:10.1016/j.jce.2018.07.004

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Eichhorst, Werner & Verena Tobsch (2017): Atypische Beschäftigung in Europa. In: WSI-Mitteilungen, Jg. 70, H. 1, S. 62-69. DOI:10.5771/0342-300X-2017-1-62

Abstract

"Atypische Beschäftigung ist in vielen europäischen Ländern während der letzten Jahre gewachsen, allerdings zeigen sich gleichzeitig erhebliche Unterschiede im Anteil der atypischen Beschäftigung zwischen den Ländern ebenso wie bei der Verbreitung einzelner Formen atypischer Arbeitsverträge. Dieser Beitrag stellt auf der Grundlage aktueller Forschungsergebnisse die Rolle atypischer Beschäftigung dar und versucht, die unterschiedlichen Profile der atypischen Beschäftigung in einzelnen EU-Mitgliedstaaten zu erklären. Dazu werden einerseits institutionelle Faktoren wie die jeweilige Regulierung der atypischen Beschäftigungsformen oder die tarifvertragliche Durchdringung sowie deren Veränderung in den Blick genommen und andererseits Faktoren der Nachfrage nach und des Angebots an den jeweils benötigten beruflichen Qualifikationen betrachtet, welche die Verhandlungsposition einzelner Gruppen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt beeinflussen. Zudem werden subjektive Indikatoren der Arbeitsbedingungen für verschiedene Beschäftigungsformen vergleichend dargestellt." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Palali, Ali & Jan C. van Ours (2017): Workplace accidents and workplace safety: on under-reporting and temporary jobs. In: Labour, Jg. 31, H. 1, S. 1-14. DOI:10.1111/labr.12088

Abstract

"Statistics on workplace accidents do not always reflect workplace safety because workers under-report for fear of job-loss if they report having had an accident. Based on an analysis of fatal and non-fatal workplace accidents and road accidents in 15 EU-countries over the period 1995-2012, we conclude that there seems to be cyclical fluctuations in reporting of non-fatal workplace accidents. Workers are less likely to report a workplace accident when unemployment is high. Furthermore, analyzing data from Italy and Spain on both workplace accidents and commuting accidents, we conclude that workers on temporary jobs are likely to under-report accidents." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Sharma, Siddharth & Hernan Winkler (2017): The labor market effects of financial crises. The role of temporary contracts in Central and Western Europe. (Policy research working paper 8085), Washington, DC, 32 S.

Abstract

"This paper examines how the 2008 - 09 financial crisis affected labor markets in Central and Western Europe, and how this impact depended on employment protections laws. Using a differences-in-differences approach that compares industries with varying degrees of inherent dependence on external financing, the analysis finds that the crisis had significant negative impacts on employment, particularly on temporary, less skilled, and younger workers. These impacts on the level and composition of employment were significantly stronger in countries with stronger legal protection of permanent workers from dismissal. This finding suggests that, given regulatory inflexibility in adjusting the permanent workforce, firms responded to tightening financial constraints by disproportionately laying off temporary workers (who tend to be younger and less skilled than permanent workers)." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bachmann, Ronald & Julia Bredtmann (2016): Die Rolle befristeter Beschäftigung in Europa. In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, Jg. 65, H. 3, S. 270-298. DOI:10.1515/zfwp-2016-0017

Abstract

"Befristete Verträge werden in vielen Ländern der Europäischen Union als Instrument, Arbeitsmärkte flexibel zu gestalten, eingesetzt. Ein internationaler Vergleich zeigt, dass die befristete Beschäftigung nur bedingt die Durchlässigkeit der Arbeitsmärkte unterstützt. Zwar erleichtert sie teilweise den Arbeitsmarktzugang, führt aber auch zu instabilen Beschäftigungsverhältnissen und segmentierten Arbeitsmärkten, die mit einer geringen Sprungbrettfunktion der befristeten Beschäftigung einhergehen. Um nachhaltige Beschäftigung zu schaffen, erscheinen Reformen des Kündigungsschutzes, die Übergange in reguläre Jobs erleichtern, sowie Investitionen in Aus- und Weiterbildung als sinnvolle Alternativen" (Autorenreferat, © De Gruyter)

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Horemans, Jeroen, Ive Marx & Brian Nolan (2016): Hanging in, but only just. Part-time employment and in-work poverty throughout the crisis. In: IZA journal of European Labor Studies, Jg. 5, S. 1-19. DOI:10.1186/s40174-016-0053-6

Abstract

"The crisis has deepened pre-existing concerns regarding low-wage and non-standard employment. Countries where unemployment increased most strongly during the crisis period also saw part-time employment increasing, particularly involuntary part-time work. With involuntary part-time workers, as a particular group of underemployed, facing especially high poverty rates, this was accompanied by an increase, on average, in the poverty risk associated with working part-time. However, this was not reflected in a marked increase in the overall in-work poverty rate because full-time work remains dominant and its poverty risk did not change markedly. The household context is of the essence when considering policy implications." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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McGrath, John (2016): Atypical employment and the role of European PES. An exploratory paper. Brüssel, 36 S. DOI:10.2767/245526

Abstract

"This paper focuses on how national PES can facilitate labour market transitions for those people in new atypical forms of work (such as jobs in the 'gig' economy). Based on the responses of national PES the paper looks at the availability of training, course curricula, client profiles, skill needs identification and the use of technology in both the promotion and delivery of training. PES responses indicate that the necessary adaptations to the traditional PES model have not yet been introduced by most PES. The paper concludes with good practices to facilitate adaptation to the new world of work. They include more flexible availability of training; more broad-based course curricula; a more heterogeneous client profile; the identification of skills needs and the use of technology to deliver flexible training remotely." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Aerden, Karen van, Guy Moors, Katia Levecque & Christophe Vanroelen (2015): The relationship between employment quality and work-related well-being in the European Labor Force. In: Journal of vocational behavior, Jg. 86, H. February, S. 66-76. DOI:10.1016/j.jvb.2014.11.001

Abstract

"In this article, data from the 2005 European Working Conditions Survey are used to examine the relationship between contemporary employment arrangements and the work-related well-being of European employees. By means of a Latent Class Cluster Analysis, several features of the employment conditions and relations characterizing jobs are combined in a typology of five employment arrangements: SER-like, instrumental, precarious unsustainable, precarious intensive and portfolio jobs. These job types show clear relationships with separate indicators of job satisfaction, perceived safety climate and the ability to stay in employment, as well as with an overall indicator for work-related well-being. The findings from this multifaceted approach towards employment quality raise questions about the long-term sustainability of highly flexible and de-standardized employment arrangements." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fervers, Lukas & Hanna Schwander (2015): Are outsiders equally out everywhere? The economic disadvantage of outsiders in cross-national perspective. In: European journal of industrial relations, Jg. 21, H. 4, S. 369-387. DOI:10.1177/0959680115573363

Abstract

"Despite intense policy debate over labour market dualization, research on cross-country differences in the 'outsider penalty' is still in its infancy. In this article, we assess two explanations for cross-national variation in the disadvantages affecting temporary workers ('outsiders'), measured by the chances of regular employment and risk of unemployment: their socio-economic composition and the effect of labour market institutions (employment protection regulation and the strength of unions). Our findings suggest that variation in the outsider penalty is not caused by the socio-economic composition of the outsider group, but rather by the institutional setting of a country. Outsiders are more disadvantaged in countries with strong employment protection legislation. In contrast, strong unions do not reinforce but mitigate insider/outsider divides in at least some dimensions, a finding that adds to recent research about unions' reorientation towards mobilizing outsiders." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))