Impact of training on people’s employability
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Training and non-permanent employment
Distinction between fixed-term and temporary agency workers
Fixed-term contracts are contracts of a limited duration, unlike permanent, or indefinite, contracts. In the framework agreement on fixed-term work (Council Directive 1999/70/EC), ‘fixed-term workers’ are defined as persons:
… having an employment contract or relationship entered into directly between an employer and a worker, where the end of the employment contract or relationship is determined by objective conditions such as reaching a specific date, completing a specific task, or the occurrence of a specific event.
Temporary agency work is understood as a triangular relationship between the temporary agency worker, the temporary work agency, and the user firm. In the amended proposal (147Kb pdf) for a Directive on working conditions for temporary agency workers (COM(2002) 701 final) temporary agency workers are defined as:
Workers with a contract of employment or an employment relationship with a temporary agency, who are posted to a user, undertaking to work temporarily under their supervision.
The statistical analysis of temporary agency work is complicated by the fact that such contracts can be either fixed-term or permanent contracts. In most countries, temporary agency workers are recruited on the basis of a fixed-term contract. In Sweden and Germany, permanent contracts are the norm, in other countries, fixed-term contracts may be converted into permanent contracts under certain conditions. In the Netherlands, the contracts are regarded as permanent as soon as a temporary agency worker has been employed for over 18 months by the same user firm, or more than 36 months by a temporary work agency. (Proposal for a Directive on working conditions for temporary workers COM 2002, 149 final - 270Kb pdf)
The legal situation differs considerably between the countries in terms of the periods of assignment. In some countries, the duration for hiring out a temporary agency worker is limited, as, for example, in Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Portugal. In other countries, there are no restrictions, as, for example, in Austria, Estonia, Germany, Spain or the United Kingdom. (Zachert, 2004)
In the report Temporary agency work in the European Union, Storrie (2002) summarised the situation as:
'Temporary agency work is necessarily temporary, only in that the tasks performed at a particular firm are of a temporary nature.'
EU-level policy framework
The framework agreement on fixed-term work lays down that:
in respect of employment conditions, fixed-term workers shall not be treated in a less favourable manner than comparable permanent workers solely because they have a fixed-term contract or relation, unless different treatment is justified on objective grounds …. As far as possible, employers should facilitate access by fixed-term workers to appropriate training opportunities to enhance their skills, career development and occupational mobility.
Temporary agency workers are explicitly excluded from the framework agreement on fixed-term work.
With the aim of improving access to permanent quality employment, the proposal (270Kb pdf) for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on working conditions for temporary agency workers provides for suitable measures to:
- improve temporary workers’ access to training in the temporary agencies, even in the periods between their postings, in order to enhance their career development and employability;
- improve temporary workers’ access to training for user undertakings’ workers.
It is relevant to observe the tension, as reflected in the different national experiences, between applying the equal treatment principle and taking into account companies’ flexibility demands. Non-permanent employment is to the fore in endeavours to achieve a balance between flexibility and security.
Incidence of non-permanent employment
Neither the Continuing vocational training survey (1.4Mb pdf) (CVTS2) nor the structural indicator on lifelong learning provide data in relation to employment status.
In the third quarter of 2004, 13.9% of employees in the EU25 were on fixed-term contracts (Figure 1). The proportion of women (14.5%) was slightly higher than men (13.3%). The share of fixed-term employment differs considerably between the countries, ranging from 31.2% in Spain and 23.8 % in Poland, to 2.9% in Estonia and 3.2% in Luxembourg. (Eurostat, Statistics in focus , Theme 3, 3/2005)
Across the EU Member States, fixed-term contracts concern migrants more than the national population. In 2001, over 20% of non-EU nationals were employed on fixed-terms contracts, compared with 13% of EU nationals (Industrial relations in the EU, Japan and USA, 2003-4). Research from Sweden (Wallette, 2004) found that people with a foreign background are more likely to remain in non-permanent employment than native Swedes.
While it is easy to find statistics on workers with a fixed-term employment contract, data on temporary agency workers is not gathered systematically at EU level.
The key source of European-wide data on temporary agency work are the European Working Conditions Surveys (Figure 2).
Contract status
Companies have varying reasons for employing people on the basis of a fixed-term contract or for hiring workers from a temporary work agency. The employment and working conditions of these two groups differ also. Therefore, the analysis clearly distinguishes between these two groups. The assumption is that there is a difference too in the training measures provided.
The group of non-permanent workers is very heterogeneous. This is true both for those on fixed-term and those on temporary agency contracts. One feature they share is that the majority of workers in non-permanent employment are not voluntarily in such an employment status. The EWCO report Temporary agency work in the European Union (2004) emphasises that the main reason for employees to engage in temporary agency work is to find permanent employment.
Table 1 outlines reasons for fixed-term work in the EU25. In 2003, 4.4% of people in employment in the EU25 were working on the basis of a fixed-term contract because they could not find a permanent job. The percentage of men is slightly higher than that of women.
| Reasons | Women | Men | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education or training | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Could not find permanent job | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.4 |
| Did not want permanent job | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Probationary period | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| No reason | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines 2004-2005 Compendium, Update: 15 April 2005; Key indicator 15: Diversity of contractual and working arrangements; based on Eurostat, Labour Force Survey
Figure 3 indicates that, in some Member States, involuntary fixed-term work is widespread. In Spain and Portugal 17.8% and 13.1% respectively of those in employment are involuntarily on a fixed-term contract. In Cyprus, Portugal and Finland high percentages of women work involuntarily on fixed-term contracts.
Investment in training
As training and competence development in companies is an investment in human resources, companies must have an interest in such interventions.
In the case of temporary agency work, the triangular relation of temporary agency, temporary agency worker and user company plays a huge role in access to training and competence development. This ‘divided employer’ situation is a key characteristic of temporary agency work, and can explain a lack of incentives to give further training to temporary agency workers.
In its final report (2.2Mb pdf), the German Expert Commission on Financing Lifelong Learning discusses the situation of temporary agency workers. Lower participation in further training impacts negatively on their employability in the long term. The experts discuss the potential interest of the user companies in investing in the training of temporary agency workers. Depending on the duration of employment of the temporary agency workers in the company, it is questionable for these companies whether the investment in further training pays off. In the triangle of temporary agency worker, temporary agency and user company, it is not clear who benefits from the training. Often, investments in further training only take place if the return flows to the investor. Additionally, the opportunities for further training are restricted, due to the frequently changing places of operation and time demands. In the periods when the worker is not hired out, the employment relationship often ends.
In the report Temporary agency work in the European Union, Storrie (2002) argues in a similar way, referring to the human capital theory. The fact that the temporary agency workers will work for the user firm only for a limited time means that there is little interest in providing much training. Therefore any training that is given is generally provided by the agency.
As the function of the temporary agency is to provide several user firms with labour, it is obvious that the skills supplied are not firm specific. Indeed, the concept of agency work is based on transferable skills traded in an occupational labour market. According to the human capital theory, firms will not be prepared to pay for investment in non firm-specific human capital, since - given that the worker is free to leave to go to another firm - they cannot ensure a return on their investment. (Storrie, 2002)
The proposal for a Directive on working conditions for temporary agency workers similarly alludes to the fact that user undertakings and temporary work agencies have little incentive to give temporary workers vocational training, as the assignment at the undertaking is of a temporary nature. (COM(2002) 149 final - 270Kb pdf)
Training and competence development
The lifelong learning and competence development approach aims at equipping the workforce with the necessary knowledge and skills. Rapidly changing work processes necessitate both the capacity and opportunity to adapt to such processes.
Two interrelated key aspects determine employability in the long run:
- training measures;
- competence development.
Competence and on-the-job skills development can be measured by a number of indicators. Key indicators, besides investment by the companies in additional training, relate to the job content. These are the ability to learn by being allocated to challenging work or being allocated to work that matches personal abilities.
The European social partners’ agreement on lifelong learning emphasises competence development over and above the acquisition of qualifications. Competencies are defined as '… the knowledge, skills, and know-how applied and mastered in a given work situation.'
Qualifications are defined as '… a formal expression of the vocational or professional abilities of the employee.'
For permanent employees, competence development plans - embedded in broader human resource development strategies - are the basis for targeted training measures and interventions. The assumption is that fixed-term or temporary agency workers are not, or are less, involved in such plans, yet these are probably more crucial for employability than short-term training measures which enable them to fulfil the tasks of the current job.
Data from the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) 2000-1 illustrate different kinds of access to training provided by the employing company, according to the workers’ contractual status (Figure 4).
An EIRO comparative study in the EU15 on non-permanent employment (TN0202101s) reports that there are fewer training opportunities for employees on non-permanent contracts.
The EWCO report Temporary agency work in the European Union provided evidence, based on national sources, that temporary agency workers have less access to supplementary training measures and to participation in long-term competence development, than workers with permanent contracts. However, the report also points to different research findings. Swedish case study research, for example, shows that, on a short-term basis, the level of learning and competence development is quite high for the workers, and changing jobs can extend their work experience. Nonetheless, the case studies showed that temporary agency workers participate less in long-term competence development than do permanent workers. Training measures tend to focus on the acquisition of skills required for the existing job situation rather than on developing new skills in relation to other fields. Temporary agency workers also have less job control in terms of control over the order of tasks, pace of work and work methods, and have low job demands.
Training of temporary agency workers can take place:
- before service in a user company, by the temporary work agency;
- in periods without assignment;
- during service in the user company.
Both the Code of Practice and the Charter of the International Confederation of Temporary Work Businesses (CIETT) emphasise the importance of providing vocational training for temporary agency workers.
In the case of temporary agency workers, there seem to be conflicting influences regarding skills and competence development. Temporary agency workers are frequently faced with new work situations and environments. Experience in different companies has the potential to broaden skills and competencies. However, temporary agency workers do not have access to targeted training measures and interesting tasks in the user companies. Therefore, the crucial question is how the potential for learning is used in practice, and what is the interest of the temporary work agency or the user company in providing targeted training and competence development within the complex triangular relationship.
Goudsward and Andries (2002) describe the cumulative differences between permanent and non-permanent employees with regard to skills development, related to the content of the job and characteristics such as solving problems, performing complex tasks and learning new things in work. Employees with permanent contracts perform more skilful jobs than employees with non-permanent contracts.
Another aspect of skills development through the work content is task flexibility, i.e. being involved in task rotation or working in teams. There are no significant differences between permanent and non-permanent employee in terms of the incidence of task flexibility, but there are differences with regard to the amount of task rotation: non-permanent employees are less involved in the latter.
A further aspect is the match between personal ability and level of skill demands. Differences between permanent and non-permanent employees are significant: employees working in non-permanent contracts more often work in jobs where the demands are too low and unchallenging. Non-permanent employees perform tasks with less skills involved in the job (lack of skills) than permanent employees.
The study by Goudswaard and Andries (2002) is based on data from the third EWCS, carried out in 2000-1. Data for the new Member States (NMS), Bulgaria and Romania, taken from the first Survey on working conditions in the acceding and candidate countries (2001) give a similar picture with regard to the potential for competence development on the job, according to employment status (Figure 5).
Newcomers on non-permanent contracts
Goudswaard and Andries (2002) explain that a significant proportion of non-permanent contracts are filled by newcomers in jobs. In their study, newcomers are understood as people who are in their first year of employment. The concept of ‘newcomers’ does not necessarily apply only to the first job in working life. Other important groups of newcomers in jobs can be, in particular, employees who have been unemployed and are returning to employment based on a fixed-term or temporary agency contract, or people returning from family-related leave.
Data from the European Labour Force Survey (LFS) demonstrate that young people, in particular, are subject to non-permanent employment. In the EU25, 37.9% of employees with fixed-term contracts in their main job were aged 15-24 years old in the second quarter of 2004. The figures are almost the same for women (37.2%) and men (38.5%). (Annual review of working conditions in the EU 2004-2005)
Training and employability
Training can be aimed at (short-term) company needs or at general skills and competence development. In the perspective of future employability, the key challenge is how to equip people better for change in both current and future jobs.
The German Institute of Employment Research’s (IAB) glossary (Werner et al, 2004) explains that:
employability is a broad concept and means adaptable and updated competencies and labour market-oriented behaviour for every person participating in the workforce; most usually, employability policies combine training, further training, re-training, career advice, placement and incentives/subsidising programmes.
In general, employability entails the following main aspects:
- access to (permanent) employment;
- advancement within employment;
- sustainable employment.
For the vulnerable group of non-permanent workers, key factors for employability include the impact on career development, in terms of a transition into permanent employment, occupational mobility and employment security. To open up opportunities for transition into permanent employment, targeted training and competence development are required.
A study (Forrier and Sels, 2003) found that temporary workers in Belgium have fewer opportunities to enhance their employability than do permanent employees.
Data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) allow an analysis of transition trends, by type of contract, for the countries covered by the panel (Table 2).
| Fixed-term to: | Permanent | Fixed-term | Education/training | Self-employed | Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU15 | 32 | 42 | 3 | 2 | 22 |
| AT | 37 | 41 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| BE | 40 | 52 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| DE | 32 | 37 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
| DK | 41 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 26 |
| EL | 22 | 55 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| ES | 30 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| FI | 25 | 44 | 1 | 2 | 28 |
| FR | 19 | 52 | 2 | 1 | 27 |
| IE | 31 | 31 | 9 | 2 | 28 |
| IT | 28 | 48 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| LU | 62 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| NL | 37 | 24 | 17 | 0 | 23 |
| PT | 49 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| UK | 47 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 20 |
Source: Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines 2004-2005 compendium, Update: 15 April 2005; Key indicator 15: Diversity of contractual and working arrangements; based on Eurostat, European Community Household Panel (ECHP)
The Employment in Europe 2004 (2.7Mb pdf) report looks at the in-work transitions of employees on a fixed-term employment contract. The analysis is based on data from the European Community Household Panel.
The probability of moving to permanent employment increases from 31% in a one-year transition to 55% after six years. However, around 37% are still in precarious employment, or moving in and out of employment after this time span. Their chances of moving into stable employment decrease over time.
The research reveals that on-the-job training is strongly correlated with opportunities to move from temporary to permanent employment. The data show a different impact of on-the-job training and training courses with regard to one-year and long-term transitions: training courses are more important for the latter transition, while on-the-job training impacts more strongly on the former.
An OECD analysis of training and employment performance indicates that policies aimed at enhancing workers’ skills contribute to an improvement in employment performance (EU0410NU01). The analysis shows a positive link between upgrading skills and overall labour force participation. At an individual level, there is a strong association between training histories and employment outcomes.
Legal regulations regarding training for non-permanent workers
The principle of non-discrimination for fixed-term contract holders, and the rule that employers should facilitate access to appropriate training opportunities, is laid down in the social partners’ framework agreement.
With regard to the precarious situation of fixed-term or temporary agency contract holders, legal regulations or collective agreements provide measures to give these workers access to training. Table 3 gives an overview for fixed-term workers and Table 4 for temporary agency workers.
The regulations for fixed-term workers in several countries explicitly exclude temporary agency workers on contracts of limited duration.
| Country | Regulation |
|---|---|
| Austria | There are no specific legal regulations or obligations concerning training measures for employees on fixed-term contracts. |
| Czech Republic | In order to facilitate changing a fixed-term employment contract into a permanent contract, Section 18 (2) (i) of Act no. 46/2004 Coll. - i.e. the Labour Code amendment - obliges employers to inform employees about vacancies for permanent positions that would be suitable for those working on fixed-term contracts. |
| Denmark | In 2002, the government approved a law that prevents discrimination of short-term employees. According to Law 370 on short-term employment, from 28 May 2003, employers are encouraged to facilitate greater access for employees on fixed-term contracts to appropriate education in order to improve their employability and mobility. Law 370 does not include temporary agency workers. |
| Estonia | The Estonian Employment Contracts Act specifies that employers must not discriminate between employees, including access to training and in-house training. There are no specific provisions regarding training of employees on fixed-term contracts. |
| Finland | The Employment Contracts Act contains no specific section concerning access to training for fixed-term employees. According to Section 1, Chapter 2 of the Employment Contracts Act, the employer shall ensure that employees are able to carry out their work even when the enterprise’s operations, the work to be carried out, or the work methods are changed or developed. The employer shall strive to further the employees’ opportunities to develop themselves according to their abilities so that they can advance in their careers. According to Section 2, Chapter 2 of the Employment Contracts Act, without proper and justified cause, less favourable employment terms than those applicable to other employment relationships must not be applied to fixed-term employment relationships. |
| France | The institutional system for vocational training was set up by the law of 16 July 1971, amended in 1984. Employers of 10 workers or more must spend a certain percentage of their wage bill on employee training, or pay the equivalent amount to the government or an Authorised Collecting Organisation held by the social partners (OPCA). Since 1992, the sum has been set at 1.5% of the wage bill (except for temporary work, see below), split in three parts: applied training, training plan, individual training leave.In September 2003, an interprofessional agreement was signed by the social partners, introducing some changes in this framework. The minimal contribution increased to 1.6% (and from 0.25% to 0.4%, and 0.55% in 2005, for employers with fewer than 10 workers). The agreement also establishes the principle of an individual right to training, under the form of a 20-hour training credit a year, which can be accumulated over six years, as training (outside work) for which the employer has given his agreement. For permanent workers, this entitlement begins after one year in the company, and for fixed-term workers after four months (the credit is calculated pro rata). |
| Germany | According to Section 19 of the law on part-time work and fixed-term labour contracts (Gesetz über Teilzeitarbeit und befristete Arbeitsverträge - 23Kb pdf; in German) the employer has to ensure that employees on fixed-term contracts can participate in appropriate education and further training measures in order to promote occupational development and mobility, as long as these are not in conflict with urgent company-related reasons or interests of other employees in education and further training. This provision does not give an entitlement to education and further training. It provides for equal treatment of employees on fixed-term contracts with regard to the selection of participants in such measures. |
| Italy | There are no specific legal provisions on the training of fixed-term employees. In 2001, implementation of the EU directive on fixed-term work abolished the priority entitlement for experienced fixed-term workers, but hundreds of company-level collective agreements re-introduced this right, sometimes in stronger terms. In some cases, they give priority to fixed-term employees when hiring for a permanent post. |
| Netherlands | The Law on Equal treatment of fixed-term and permanent contracts is applicable for different flexible contracts, but not for temporary agency work. This law forbids employers to make a distinction in employment conditions between employees with a non-permanent and a permanent contract, unless the difference can be justified objectively. Justification for an exclusion from long-term training plans can be made on several grounds, for example, when a measure has no use because of the short-term employment relation; or will be implemented after the contract ends; or concerns a longer term obligation of the employer that exceeds the duration of the contract; or would result in unjustified high costs for the employer. The Dutch Labour Inspection analyses the content of Collective Agreements on a regular basis. In 2003, attention was paid to special agreements on company policy on employability directed towards special groups (Arbeidsinspectie, 2003). The Inspection concluded that there are many agreements directed towards the employability of groups of unemployed people with low qualifications (32 agreements), but only a few directed towards employees on a fixed-term contract (two agreements). |
| Portugal | The Portuguese Government recently introduced a new Labour Code, Law Nº 99/2003 of 27 August (entered into force on 1 December 2003). In this law, a specific article refers to training for employees on fixed-term contracts (Article 137). It states that the employer should give professional training to the employee on a fixed-term contract whenever the contract period exceeds a time limit of six months. The law also establishes a minimum training hour limit corresponding to the contract duration: if the contract period is less than a year, the training hours should correspond to 1% of the normal working period; if the contract duration is between one and three years, the training hours should be equal to 2% of the normal working period; and if the contract period is over three years, the training hours should be equal to 3% of the normal working period. Regarding legal provisions of permanent employees’ professional training, Article 125 of the Labour Code states that employers are obliged to promote competencies and on-the-job skills development for all employees. A minimum of training hours per year for each permanent employee is guaranteed: up to 2006, it is set at a minimum of 20 hours a year and, from 2006 onwards, this minimum will be 35 hours a year. |
| Spain | The Spanish Social Security requires that 0.7% of the salary be devoted to funding continuing training activities: employers contribute 0.6% and workers the remaining 0.1%. It should be noted that 0.35% is targeted at training for unemployed people while the remaining 0.35% focuses on training initiatives for all salaried employees, including fixed-term contract workers, but not temporary agency workers. The Spanish Tripartite Foundation for Training in the Workplace (Fundación Tripartita para la Formación en el Empleo) is the public body in charge of continuing training. |
| Sweden | There are no specific legal provisions on training for fixed-term workers. |
Source: EWCO national reports, 2005
| Country | Regulation |
|---|---|
| Austria | The conditions under which hiring-out of labour is allowed are laid down in the Hiring-Out of Labour Act (Arbeitskräfteüberlassungsgesetz - AÜG). The Act aims at protecting temporary agency workers in terms of employment contract, health and safety at work and social security, and at avoiding negative labour market developments for them. But, although the Act covers crucial working conditions aspects, such as payment, holidays, working time, notice periods, etc, it does not include training measures. There are no specific legal regulations or obligations concerning training measures for employees on temporary agency contracts. Also, the collective agreement for temporary agencies, which aims at guaranteeing basic social security for temporary agency workers, does not include any regulations concerning training opportunities. |
| Czech Republic | The temporary work agency and the hiring company are obliged under Section 38b (5) of the Labour Code to ensure that the temporary worker’s work and pay conditions are no worse than those of a comparable employee. If they are, the agency is obliged, upon request by the temporary worker or without any such request if the agency otherwise learns of the conditions, to ensure equal treatment. Temporary workers are entitled to demand a satisfactory outcome from the agency concerning their claim. |
| Denmark | Law 370 on short-term employment of 28 May 2003 does not include temporary agency workers. |
| Estonia | Labour law does not restrict the use of temporary agency contracts. There are no specific legal provisions on training of agency employees. |
| Finland | No information provided. |
| France | The interprofessional agreement of 24 March 1990 on fixed-term and temporary agency work was brought into law on 12 July 1990. It set out the compulsory contribution of temporary work agencies, with more than 10 employees, towards vocational training, at a higher percentage than the standard (2% instead of 1.5%). At least 50% of this sum must be used for the training of temporary workers. The compulsory contributions to the training fund are 0.4% of the wage bill for the applied training of young workers who leave school without certification; 0.3% for individual training leave and competencies assessment; 1.3% for a training plan; the temporary work agency may manage directly most of this amount (up to 85%), as it sees fit. Beyond these contributions, the agencies also have to pay 0.2% of their wage bill to the FPE-TT (Fonds Professionnel pour l’Emploi du Travail Temporaire - Professional fund for employment of temporary work), which was created in 1996 to improve the work integration of temporary workers. |
| Germany | The Law on temporary agency work (40Kb pdf; in German) (Gesetz zur Regelung der gewerbsmäßigen Arbeitnehmerüberlassung - AÜG) does not include any specific provisions on training measures. In Section 11, 6, the Law on temporary agency work states that the occupational health and safety obligations for the user company apply to the temporary agency worker, regardless of the obligations of the temporary work agency. The user company has to inform the temporary agency worker about health and safety risks and measures and facilities to prevent risks, before taking up work and in the case of changes in the working area. In addition, the user company has to inform the temporary agency worker on the need for particular qualifications or occupational skills or special medical surveillance, as well as about particular risks of the workplace. The collective agreements on temporary agency work do not include any provision on training. Public Personnel Service Agencies (PSA) are obliged to provide further training for the temporary agency workers they employ. These public employment agencies have the task of bringing unemployed people into employment, and concluding employee contracts with interested companies. |
| Italy | Forma.temp , the bilateral fund built up by agency representative associations and trade unions for the training of temporary agency workers, was instituted in 1999. It manages the 4% part of the wage bill devoted to training, according to the 1997 labour market reform (the so-called ‘Treu package’) which introduced temporary agency work in Italy. Some incentives in offering training or financial support, through sharing certain training costs, are provided by bilateral institutions, such as Forma.temp for agency workers and local-level bilateral institutions and companies in commerce, tourism, construction and crafts. These institutions collect funds from companies and workers on the basis of collective agreements, both at national and at local level, in order to provide some services or financial support in training, innovation and further welfare measures, both to eligible workers and companies applying for them. |
| Netherlands | The Collective Agreement for Temporary Agency Work provides for training measures for employees with a flexible contract. Temporary agency work in the Netherlands is organised in a phase system. The workers enter their employment status in phase A and - if applicable - can pursue their career as a temporary agency worker on a fixed-term contract with the agency (phase B) and, finally, on a permanent contract (phase C). Temporary agencies are therefore also regular employers, with the ensuing legal obligations. According to the Collective Agreement, a personal training budget is set up from the 27th week of temporary agency work (phase A) onwards. This budget can be used in phase B. All workers go through these phases if they work long enough in a certain phase. They could, however, remain in the first phase, if the work as a temporary worker is discontinuous. There are certain rules for the duration of the work and any career breaks. |
| Portugal | In 1996 and 1999, new legislation (Laws 39/96 and 146/99) introduced changes to the Decree Law 358/89. Regarding professional training, Article 8 - Duties of the temporary-employment agencies - ruled that the temporary work agencies are obliged to contribute at least 1% of total annual revenue to temporary worker training. Non-fulfilment of this obligation is considered a serious administrative offence, and liable to a fine. |
| Spain | Regulations on training measures are included in the: Law 14/1994, from 1 June 1994, on temporary work agencies (Ley de Empresas de Trabajo Temporal), which was later modified by the Law 29/1999, from 16 July 1999 (Ley de Modificación de la Ley 14/1994); and in the National Collective Agreements of temporary work agencies (Convenio Colectivo Estatal de Empresas de Trabajo Temporal). The Fourth Agreement, signed on 14 April 2004 is currently in force, until 31 December 2005. Article 12.2 of the Law 14/1994, states that Temporary Work Agencies have to put in place a compulsory reserve of 1% of salary for investment in training activities for temporary workers. Since the Third National Collective Agreement of Temporary Work Agencies, of 19 October 2000, an additional 0.25% budget is recommended, aimed at training on workplace health and risk prevention. However, this is not compulsory. |
| Sweden | There are no specific legal provisions on training for temporary agency work. |
Source: EWCO national reports, 2005
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