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Fragmentation of the labour force

So-called ‘fragmentation of the labour force’ in Europe has resulted from the recent increase in forms of work and employment which differ from the ‘standard employment relationship’ of permanent, full-time, socially secure employment. Complementing the standard form of employment are the growth of part-time work, fixed-term contracts, temporary agency work, homeworking, self-employment, casual, seasonal and other ‘non-standard’ forms of employment.

The EU has attempted to come to terms with the fragmentation of the workforce in a number of ways. In particular, it has extended the boundaries of EU labour regulation beyond the contract of employment to incorporate a wider range of employment relationships, and developed a policy on the distribution of working time, with an emphasis on part-time workers.

In addition to those initiatives, the Commission proposed Council Directives on certain employment relationships in the aftermath of the approval of the Charter of Fundamental Social Rights in December 1989:

• Proposal for a Council Directive on certain employment relationships with regard to working conditions;
• Proposal for a Council Directive on certain employment relationships with regard to distortions of competition, COM (90) 228 final.
• Proposal for a Council Directive supplementing the measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of temporary workers, COM (90) 228 final.

Only the third of these three proposed directives specifically addressing particular forms of work was adopted. The proposal was eventually approved and became Council Directive 91/383 of 25 June 1991, supplementing the measures to encourage improvement in the safety and health at work of workers with a fixed-duration employment relationship or a temporary employment relationship. EU regulation in this area has been further strengthened by the Council Directives concerning the Framework Agreements on part-time work and fixed-term work. Moreover, although the European social dialogue on agency work failed to reach an agreement, the Commission has proposed a directive on the matter.

See also: atypical work; casual worker; economically dependent worker; employee; fixed-term work; flexicurity; homeworking; part-time work; quality of work; seasonal work; self-employed person; social exclusion; temporary agency work; working time; work-life balance.