Employment and working conditions of the most vulnerable workers

Over the past two decades, European labour markets have undergone significant transformation, with a marked rise in non-standard forms of employment such as part-time and temporary work. While these arrangements can offer flexibility, they can also lead to situations of vulnerability, especially when they are involuntary or when multiple disadvantages combine.

In this episode of Eurofound Talks, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Karel Fric to explore the employment and working conditions of the most vulnerable workers, looking at how vulnerability is defined, who is most affected, and how this challenge is evolving across Europe.

Employment status

Working time

Job quality

Mary McCaughey,

Karel Fric

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Speakers in this episode

Mary McCaughey

Head of Unit

Information and Communication

Mary McCaughey is Head of Information and Communication in Eurofound. A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and the College of Europe, Bruges, she started work in Brussels with Europolitics and the Wall Street Journal Europe. She worked with the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) in South Africa during the country’s transition to democracy, and in 1998 she took up the post of spokesperson with the Delegation of the European Union in Pretoria, heading up its press and information department during the negotiation of the EU–South Africa free trade agreement. Following the end of the Kosovo War, she worked as a communications consultant for the European Agency for Reconstruction in Serbia. She took up the post of Editor-in-Chief in Eurofound in 2003.

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Karel Fric

Research officer

Social policies research

Karel Fric is a research officer in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. His work involves survey research, data analysis and project management, with a particular focus on working and living conditions, equality and discrimination. He previously worked as a researcher at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in Vienna, Austria, and at Panteia, a research and consulting organisation based in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands. Karel holds a PhD in Social Sciences from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a Master’s degree in Economics from Utrecht University.

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Related content

Publication

New

10 July 2026

Employment and working conditions of the most vulnerable workers: Addressing an ongoing policy challenge

Over the past two decades, labour markets across the EU have seen a marked rise in non-standard employment. While such arrangements can offer flexibility and better work–life balance, vulnerability arises when they are involuntary or when multiple non-standard characteristics intersect. This report analyses the prevalence of employment vulnerability across the EU-27 from 2009 to 2021, examining its links to working conditions, health outcomes and policy responses. The findings show that women, young people and migrants face the highest risk, with those experiencing multiple dimensions of vulnerability reporting poorer job prospects, limited training opportunities, less autonomy and higher rates of anxiety and depression. The report also reviews EU and national policy measures aimed at strengthening contractual certainty and supporting transitions to more secure employment.