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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)

Finland is a unitary state where the highest organs of government are the parliament, the president and the government. The Finnish public administration has two tiers: the state administration and the self-governing municipalities. The state administration operates on all three administrative

13 January 2014

The total number of people employed in the public sector grew from around 317,000 in 2001 to 360,000 in 2008, a growth of 14%. Excluding commercial state-sponsored bodies, the numbers employed in the public service grew from 270,000 in 2000 to 320,000 in 2008, a growth of 19%. Since the financial

13 January 2014

Germany is a federal country made up of 16 federal states (Länder) and the federation (Bund). The Länder are states with sovereign rights and responsibilities that are not devolved from the federation, but are granted to them by the Basic Law. Each state has its own government, parliament, courts

13 January 2014

There is an absence of commonly agreed definitions of key concepts such as public sector, public services and public administration, not to mention ‘central’ public administration. This absence is problematic when comparing several institutions, or even when addressing different issues within one

13 January 2014

Croatia became the 28th Member State of the European Union on 1 July 2013. Eurofound gathers information on living and working conditions across Europe in order to provide knowledge to assist in the development of social and work-related policies. This fact sheet presents information about Croatia

11 July 2013

Lithuania became a Member State of the European Union in 2004 and took up the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July 2013. It is the largest of the three Baltic states, with a population of three million. Eurofound gathers information on living and working conditions across Europe

08 July 2013

This report examines shifts in the pattern of production and employment between different countries and regions of Europe. Based on findings from a series of company case studies, it looks at the location of job creation and job destruction in multinational companies across the 25 EU Member States

12 March 2009

This report presents results from the Employment Options Survey with a special focus on the relationship between private living circumstances and labour market participation. Gender, age, marital status and children do have an influence on employment rates as well as on working conditions. The

17 February 2009

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has commissioned a research project to analyse the impact of flexible employment policies and human resources management on working conditions at the corporate level. Research institutes of seven countries participate in

15 February 2009

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has commissioned a research project to analyse the impact of flexible employment policies and human resources management on working conditions at the corporate level. Research institutes of seven countries participate in

15 February 2009

Online resources results (89)

Netherlands: New Act on work and security

The Netherlands’ new Act on Work and Security will change employment and dismissal law. The aim is to create a new balance between ‘insiders’ – permanent employees who have high levels of protection – and ‘outsiders’, flexible workers who have little or no protection. The act was passed in July 2014

Portugal: Employment protection weakened

After the troika intervention ended in Portugal in May 2014, important changes were made to employment rules. These allow companies to dismiss workers for ‘unsuitability’, and companies in crisis to suspend collective agreements. They also reduce the period for which expired collective agreements

Bulgaria: Job satisfaction in light of poor economic outlook

The Institute for Social and Trade Union Research conducted national surveys on work climate in 2010 and 2012. The subsequent report, presented in 2013, provides a comparative analysis of the job satisfaction of employees, and those who are self-employed, with issues such as job security, pay

United Kingdom: Impact of the recession on workplaces and on employment relations

The first findings of the 2011 UK Workplace Employment Relations Study, published in January 2013, present an authentic picture of employee representation, collective bargaining and consultation arrangements in British workplaces. They also throw an interesting light on the impact of the recession

Bulgaria: Trend of improved working conditions

The results of this survey clearly show that working conditions in many sectors, and in the Bulgarian economy as a whole, have improved. Despite some areas of continuing concern, there has been a positive change in the attitude of both management and employees. Action taken to improve working

France: Older workers and employment

The ageing population and the consequent increase in the share of older workers in the workforce have raised concerns among both policy makers and social partners across Europe. In France, the employment rate of older workers is still below the EU average, although it has increased slightly in the

Increasing numbers employed through fraudulent temporary work agencies

In two years, the number of employees working through ‘/mala fide/’ or fraudulent temporary work agencies has almost doubled. While, in 2006, the figure was 80,000 workers, this irregular practice now involves some 150,000 people a year. More than half of the temporary agency workers from eastern

Unions support Sonera and Telia merger plans

In late March 2002, two telecommunications companies, the Finnish Sonera and Swedish Telia, announced their intention to merge. The merger would create the largest telecommunications operator in the Nordic countries and a significant operator on the European scale. According to the companies, the

Holzmann construction company files for bankruptcy protection

On 21 March 2002, the German-based construction company Philipp Holzmann AG filed for bankruptcy protection in court. The collapse of Germany's second-largest construction company came after several leading banks, among others Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Commerzbank and HypoVereinsbank, failed to

2000 annual review for Japan

GDP increased by 1.7% in real terms in 2000, substantially higher than the 0.8% growth rate for 1999. A major factor was the increase in fixed capital investment by the private sector, particularly investment in information technology (IT) industries. The real growth rate in private fixed investment


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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