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Employment relationship

Individual employment relations are the relationship between the individual worker and their employer. This relationship is shaped by legal regulation and by the outcomes of social partner negotiations over the terms and conditions governing the employment relationship. Regardless of the type and duration of the employment relationship, workers have the right to fair and equal treatment regarding working conditions, access to social protection and training.

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Eurofound expert(s)

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Gijs van Houten is a senior research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He has specific expertise in cross-national survey methodology and the analysis of workplace...

Senior research manager,
Employment research unit
Publications results (47)

Among the fraudulent contracting of work practices, one of the most difficult to identify is the creation of sham companies (usually, in another country). Sham companies are essentially new entities created to disguise the real employer. Creating a company, even abroad, is – of course – legal and

27 July 2017

A traineeship is generally defined as an education and training programme combined with work experience, devised for certain groups – usually unemployed young people. Various types of traineeship are found across EU Member States. Traineeships have recently been actively promoted by the European

27 July 2017

Although standard employment is still dominant in European labour markets, an increasing range of new employment forms is emerging that differ in their implications for working conditions. This study explores strategic employee sharing, an employment form for companies that have specific HR needs

21 November 2016

This topical update on the protection of whistle-blowers in the EU mainly covers developments that have taken place in the years 2013–2016. The update covers international, European and national level legislation, and includes two case studies on the protection for whistle-blowers in Ireland and

19 August 2016

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

This report describes the findings of a study of change in job tenure between 2002 and 2012 in the EU. The study examined change in mean tenure as well as the distribution of short and long tenure in the EU and in individual Member States. It also looked at differences in tenure according to

15 July 2015

Across Europe, new forms of employment are emerging that are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. Some transform the relationship between employer and employee, some change work organisation and work patterns, and some do both. This report identifies

12 March 2015

This report describes the main developments in industrial relations and working conditions in 2013 in the 28 EU Member States and in Norway, from both a national and EU-level perspective. Beginning with an overview of the current economic and political context in these countries, the report goes on

16 January 2015

This report examines employment opportunities for people with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and mental health problems in the EU28 Member States and Norway. People with a chronic disease may have a

14 November 2014

Luxembourg, with a population of 502,066 in 2010, is a unitary state with two layers of government: the dominant central government and the municipalities, or communes. The state is characterised by a highly centralised administrative structure in that all legislative powers are concentrated at

13 January 2014

Online resources results (89)

Unions refute threat from demise of the traditional job

A popular view has emerged that the UK is experiencing the demise of the "conventional job" based on full-time, open-ended employment. A recent Department of Trade and Industry discussion paper, (/Work and parents: competitiveness and choice/, September 2000) notes that "the concept of a 'standard'

Employment gains importance in company-level bargaining

Employment is gaining importance in collective bargaining at company level in Spain. A significant number of collective agreements deal with this question and they do so in greater scope and complexity than in the past. These are among the findings of a recent study on this topic, issued in April

Committee issues report on future of working life

On 2 December 1999, the government-appointed Working Life Committee (Arbeidslivskomiteen) delivered its report on the future challenges facing Norwegian working life. The rationale for the committee's work is the apparent need for more flexible ways of organising working life, in the face of

Seniority rules examined

Public debate on employment protection - ie protection against dismissal and redundancy - has been going on for a long time, and in 1974 a major Act on Employment Protection (lagen om anställningsskydd, LAS) was passed. The debate started anew at the beginning of the 1990s. The issues of the

Insolvency law and the interests of employees

Dutch insolvency law places emphasis on the interests of creditors. Employee interests are subordinate, but are not completely ignored. This is clear from a recent judicial decision and from a new bill that was presented to the cabinet in October 1999.

Employment security in banking: the case of the Co-operative Bank

The results of the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey [1] (WERS 98), published in September 1999, show that job security guarantees are significantly more widespread in the financial services sector than in almost every other part of the economy. Staff in almost 40% of workplaces in financial

The industrial relations implications of the British Steel/Hoogovens merger

In early June 1999, British Steel and the Dutch steel producer Hoogovens announced their intention to merge in a deal valued at GBP 3.9 billion. The merged entity will be the largest steel firm in Europe and the third biggest in the world, producing 22.5 million tonnes of steel per year. As the

Report finds that wage rigidity remains high, even during high unemployment

A report entitled Survey evidence on wage rigidity and unemployment: Sweden in the 1990s [1] was presented on 29 June 1999. The study is based on two surveys, one conducted in 1991, the other in 1998, aiming to explore among managers from 157 companies in the Swedish manufacturing industry how a

Problems mark implementation of Dutch Flexibility and Security Act

Approximately 80,000 employees with a flexible employment contract have benefited from the Flexibility and Security Act, which took effect in the Netherlands on 1 January 1999, with the intention of improving job security. However, a survey published in April 1999 has also revealed negative

Government intends to reform law on temporary employment agencies

The Spanish government announced in April 1999 that it intends to reform the law on temporary employment agencies before the end of its term of office. Trade unions have for some time been calling for legal changes to improve the working conditions of agency employees, but the resistance of the


Blogs results (6)
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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 March 2022
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Standard employment is not simply being replaced by non-standard work; employment is becoming more diverse, and policy must accordingly become more tailored. The last decade has seen much public and policy debate on the future of work. Standard employment – permanent, full-time and subject to labour

15 December 2020
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​​​​​​​With remote working becoming the new normal for many workers, it is surely the case that many employers are anxious to ensure that their employees are putting in full working days. Companies are likely to be investing in and deploying digital technologies for tracking employee performance

9 December 2020
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According to the dictionary, an organisation is an organised group of people with a particular purpose. To achieve this purpose, tasks are divided between the members of the group, and the task of some of those people is to manage the others. Interestingly, whereas most tasks are allocated based on

27 November 2020
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Digital technologies are transforming work, but the implications have not yet been fully grasped. In a recent Eurofound report, we focus on three main vectors of change to discuss the effects of digital technologies on work and employment and the policy responses such change demands.

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Research Manager Isabella Biletta looks at fraudulent practices in the contracting of work. Such practices involve the abuse of legitimate employment relationships with the aim of sidestepping labour and social regulations and with the effect of undermining workers’ rights and fair competition in

1 June 2018

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