Παράκαμψη προς το κυρίως περιεχόμενο
labour_and_social_regulation.jpg

Labour and social regulation

Labour and social regulation covers the legal framework and fundamental social rights that regulates industrial relations, employment and social policies across Europe. It includes national, EU and international legislation.  Union labour law has a direct or indirect impact on the normative and functional frameworks of individual and collective labour law systems of the Member States in a relationship of mutual interference and interaction.  Increasingly Union labour laws are also shaped by agreements that the parties voluntarily enter into and by soft law mechanisms.  The reform or modernising of labour law is currently high on the agenda in several Member States.

Topic

Recent updates

ef22011_card_cover.png

Ο όρος "υβριδική εργασία" έγινε ευρύτερα γνωστός με την αύξηση της τηλεργασίας κατά τη διάρκεια της πανδημίας COVID-19, καθώς οι επιχειρήσεις και οι εργαζόμενοι ξεκίνησαν συζητήσεις σχετικά με τους τρόπους...

25 Μάιος 2023
Publication
Research report

Eurofound research

Eurofound has monitored legislative developments in industrial relations, working conditions and restructuring in Europe over time and from a comparative perspective across the Member States. The Agency’s work in this area seeks to assist decision-makers to better understand the legal framework for creating policy. It has also put resources in place to assist audiences in understanding the sometimes complex and difficult terminology used.

EU context

This topic covers the legal framework that regulates industrial relations and employment across Europe, including EU legislation and the fundamental labour standards that need to be taken into account.

Legislation is crucial in shaping how Europeans work and live. It is the basis for ensuring better working conditions, equitable labour relations, and equal opportunities for all citizens.

Publications results (81)

This publication consists of individual country reports on working life during 2020 for 29 countries – the 27 EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom. The country reports summarise first evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working life based on national research and survey

23 March 2021

New digital technologies have expanded the possibilities of employee monitoring and surveillance, both in and outside the workplace. In the context of the increasing digitalisation of work, there are many issues related to employee monitoring that warrant the attention of policymakers. As well as

09 December 2020

Developments in information and communication technology (ICT) have been among the key drivers of change in working life over the past two decades. Specifically, telework and ICT-based mobile work (TICTM) exemplifies how digital technology has led to more flexible workplace and working time

02 July 2020

This study examines the interaction between social dialogue practices and human resources management (HRM) policies in European multinational companies (MNCs). It looks at the changing role of HRM and its interaction with European Works Councils (EWCs), which can act as a link between different

16 June 2020

The debate about the posting of workers in the EU, its economic and social consequences, and ways to manage it is hampered by the fact that reliable, comparable data on the phenomenon are lacking. Accurate statistics on the number of posted workers, their characteristics and working conditions are s

20 January 2020

Casual work, both intermittent and on-call, contributes to labour market flexibility and is therefore increasingly used across Europe. In some countries, practices go beyond the use of casual employment contracts to include other types of contracts and forms of self-employment.

20 December 2019

This biennial review charts developments in a range of working time issues in the EU and Norway in 2017–2018. It finds that while the average collectively agreed working week across the EU remains unchanged since 2016 – at 38 hours – there was a slight decrease in the past two years in the 15 Member

03 October 2019

This report – the latest in an annual series – describes the main developments in industrial relations and the regulations affecting working conditions at EU level and in the EU Member States and Norway during 2018. Based on data from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents, it presents information

02 October 2019

In most EU Member States, reviews of the statutory minimum wage rates spark a great deal of public interest. Such reviews affect the wider workforce, beyond those workers on the statutory minimum wage. Pay rates in collective agreements may be adapted in response to an increase in the minimum wage

04 June 2019

This report investigates the involvement of the national social partners in the design and implementation of reforms and policies in the context of the European Semester and countryspecific recommendations 2017–2018. In line with previous reports on the same theme, it also analyses the quality of

23 May 2019

Online resources results (793)

Italy: New rules to protect call centre workers

Measures have been introduced in Italy to protect its 80,000 call centre workers from the negative effects of increasing competitive pressures on employment, delocalisation and working conditions. Employers and unions in the sector have also adopted new rules aimed at avoiding social dumping

Estonia: New law to upgrade individual labour dispute mechanism

New regulations on resolving individual labour disputes were approved by parliament in June 2017. The changes, to take effect from 2018, are expected to make the out-of-court dispute resolution process simpler and clearer, while also giving labour dispute committees more authority.

Latvia: Latest working life developments – Q2 2017

Restrictions on extended working hours and tax reforms in the healthcare sector, strike action by family doctors, and social partner discussions on the national minimum wage are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in

Bulgaria: Latest working life developments – Q2 2017

The ongoing debate about raising the statutory minimum wage – and trade union opposition to requirements for large combustion plants – are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Bulgaria in the second quarter of 2017.

Spain: High Court ruling abolishes recording of daily working time

The High Court has ruled that companies no longer need to keep a record of their employees’ daily working time, although they must still record overtime worked. This ruling, confirming an earlier initial ruling, has led to controversy between the social partners and forced the Labour Inspectorate to

Austria: Updated law against wage and social dumping comes into force

On 1 January 2017, Austria enacted a new law against wage and social dumping, updating (for the second time since 2015) regulations which first came into force in 2011. The law features the concept of customer liability and improves aspects of cross-border administrative prosecutions. However, its

United Kingdom: Latest working life developments – Q1 2017

The latest developments on Brexit, employment rights following the UK’s exit, figures on zero-hours contracts and in-work poverty, and legal developments on the ‘gig economy’ are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in

Norway: Whistle-blowing and freedom of speech in the workplace

New research suggests that, while the observed amount of wrongdoing in Norwegian workplaces and the proportion of employees who chose to report this has remained relatively stable, the number of reprisals against whistle-blowers rose between 2013 and 2016, while the effectiveness of employees’

Norway: Improving gender balance in management posts

While Norway has a good record on equal opportunities for women, the proportion of women in management is relatively low. A new report on the issue concludes that a gender-neutral approach rather than initiatives aimed at women only seems to be more successful in achieving gender balance.

United Kingdom: Government launches consultation on worker representatives on company boards

Prime Minister Theresa May first pledged to put worker representatives on the boards of UK companies in July 2016, shortly after taking office. This article outlines the evolution of the proposal, up to the launch on 29 November of the formal process of consultation on corporate governance, and


Blogs results (12)
ef22076.png

The platform economy is one of those moving targets, which, despite receiving increasing media and policy attention, has proven difficult to regulate. Given the heterogeneity of employment relationships, business models, types of platform work and cross-border issues, this is not surprising. Yet, in

27 Σεπτέμβριος 2022
ef22054.png

With the arrival of the month of May, the 2022 European Semester Spring Package is anticipated soon. After a transformative year in 2021, which saw the launch of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) under NextGenerationEU, the European Semester cycle has resumed its role as the reference

3 Μάιος 2022
ef22043.png

Whether it is couch surfing, baby-sitting, pizza delivery or getting Ikea furniture assembled by somebody who can do it better, platforms can mediate all kinds of voluntary or professional services. Platform work is at the heart of the ‘sharing economy’. But while this may sound like a new form of

31 Μάρτιος 2022
ef21081.png

With its proposed directive on gender pay transparency, the European Commission has significantly bolstered the set of tools for delivering its objectives compared to those presented in its 2014 Recommendation. The proposed portfolio of measures addresses many shortcomings of the instruments that

18 Ιούνιος 2021
ef21076.png

The massive and rapid adoption of telework in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 lockdowns exposed gaps in the legislation governing telework arrangements across the EU Member States. In some cases, there was no regulation in place; in others, it was too restrictive. Governments scrambled to put

31 Μάιος 2021
ef20082.png

Whatever the benefits of telework – and there are many, including more flexible working time, increased productivity and less commuting – there are drawbacks, as many of the one-third of Europeans who were exclusively working from home during the pandemic will attest. Primary among these is the ‘alw

3 Δεκέμβριος 2020
image_blog_gender_pay_reports_06112020.png

Following a sluggish response by many Member States to introduce or modify gender pay transparency measures, as it recommended in 2014, the European Commission intends to table a proposal for EU-level legislation on pay transparency later in 2020. In this context, a new Eurofound study investigated

6 Νοέμβριος 2020
image_blog_short_term_working_05052020.png

On 2 April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new fund of up to €100 billion to support EU Member States to introduce short-time working or similar schemes, including for the self-employed, in an effort to safeguard jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Known as SURE

5 Μάιος 2020
image_blog_lmc_precarious_workers_21042020.png

Up to the start of 2020, recent EU economic and labour market trends were often discussed in terms of the periods before and after the Great Recession. It now appears likely that, in the short- to medium-term, the repercussions of that economic crisis will be dwarfed by the unfolding impact of the

21 Απρίλιος 2020

Disclaimer

When freely submitting your request, you are consenting Eurofound in handling your personal data to reply to you. Your request will be handled in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data. More information, please read the Data Protection Notice.