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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.

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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)

Smartphone car service Uber, a successful company example of the sharing economy, has spread to many EU Member States in recent years. However, many employers and unions are concerned about its challenge to fair competition for other businesses in the sector and about the erosion of working

25 January 2016

The need to reform pension systems is one of the key challenges for social policymakers in Europe. This article provides an update of how the EU 28 and Norway are tackling this issue in the face of demographic change, focusing in particular on the involvement of the social partners and governments.

02 October 2015

The Commission has decided to withdraw its draft Maternity Leave Directive, which has been stuck in the legislative process since 2008. This article describes key developments and explores some of the contradictions that were predicted in the Commission’s 2015 Work Programme and the Better

14 July 2015

The Maternity Leave Directive (92/85/EEC) is concerned with improvements in the safety and health at work of women who are pregnant, have recently given birth or who are breastfeeding. This report finds that nearly all Member States comply with the directive’s provision of granting at least two

13 July 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on individual employment relations in the EU during the third and fourth quarters of 2014. Employment protection legislation and the termination of employment are the main focus of this report.

06 March 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings in the EU during the first quarter of 2014. It features trends in pay, collective wage bargaining, wage-setting mechanisms and issues around minimum wages and equal pay.

18 February 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on pay in the EU during the second quarter of 2014. Post-crisis shifts in pay levels, national debates on the minimum wage and research into the gender pay gap are the main focus of this report.

18 February 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on aspects of individual employment relations in the EU during the second quarter of 2014. The protection of trainees and the prevention of social welfare benefit fraud are the main focus of this report.

18 February 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on aspects of individual employment relations in the EU during the first quarter of 2014. The terms and conditions of employment, entitlements and obligations and aspects related to the termination of the employment

18 February 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on EU-level developments in industrial relations and working conditions during the second quarter of 2014. European Parliament decisions and debates, developments regarding health at work and e-health, and the Youth Employment

18 February 2015

Online resources results (793)

Greece: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

The first evaluation of the economic reform program, the reform of the social security system, pension issues, rulings on liability for occupational accidents and the growing refugee crisis are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in

Poland: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

The re-emergence of conflict in the coal-mining sector, noticeable pay pressure, significant changes to labour law and the new child benefit are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Poland in the first quarter of 2016.

Slovakia: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

Nurses handing in their notices in a protest over wages, teachers protesting about wages and changes in the education system, the Constitutional Court’s decision on the law on extending collective agreements, law reforms to protect workers’ health, and research on undeclared work are the main topics

United Kingdom: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

The forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union and the UK’s productivity gap are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in the UK in the first quarter of 2016.

Czech Republic: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

Positive trends in economic performance (raising the issue of an imbalance between cheap labour and productivity), measures to deal with disadvantaged groups on the labour market, and equal pay are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in

Sweden: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

An intense bargaining round, proposals to improve protection for whistle-blowers and a continued focus on labour market integration are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Sweden in the first quarter of 2016.

Romania: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

Increasing confrontation in industrial relations and government efforts to tackle undeclared work are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Romania in the first quarter of 2016.

Lithuania: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

The strike in the education sector, the approval of the Action Plan for social dialogue and the findings on wages and work-life balance of three surveys are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Lithuania in the first

Italy: New Stability Law extends range of tax-exempt benefits

Italy’s 2016 Stability Law supports the uptake of private welfare measures by extending the types of tax-exempt benefits offered by employers to include those agreed through collective bargaining.

Norway: Employer confederations seek minimum wage for refugees and immigrants

There is no national statutory minimum wage in Norway. However, several employer confederations have taken an initiative to introduce a minimum wage in relation to the current refugee situation.


Blogs results (12)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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

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