New forms of employment represents the umbrella term for the more diversified forms of employment that are emerging or have been gaining importance since about 2000. Alongside traditional employment relationships, new forms of work are characterised by changing working patterns, contractual relationships, places, duration and schedule of work, increased use of information and communication technologies (ICT), or a combination of those.
To fill existing knowledge gaps, since 2013 Eurofound has been exploring the characteristics of emerging forms of employment in EU Member States. The research looks at the implications for working conditions and the labour market.
In 2015, Eurofound conducted a Europe-wide mapping exercise to identify emerging trends. This exercise led to the categorisation of nine broad types of employment forms that are new or have become increasingly important in European Member States since 2000: employee sharing, job sharing, voucher-based work, interim management, casual work, ICT-based mobile work, platform work, portfolio work and collaborative employment. A range of case studies, carried out as part of the study, show how these new employment forms operate in Member States and their effects on working conditions and the labour market.
In 2020, Eurofound conducted a follow-up review of new forms of employment which tracked their scale, scope and incidence and highlighted their increasing relevance for European labour markets.
Eurofound continues to examine in more detail some of the new trends identified. Research in 2016 looked in particular at the win–win potential of strategic employee sharing for both employers and employees. In 2020, a study on telework and ICT-mobile work (T/ICTM) analysed the implications of these arrangements on employment and working conditions.
Social, economic and technological changes in Europe have given rise to new forms of employment. The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to an increase in the scale and scope of new forms of employment. Many of these are very different from traditional ‘work’. They transform the traditional one-to-one relationship between employer and employee. They are also characterised by unconventional work patterns and places of work.
Policymakers in the EU are interested in how these new forms of employment can help to build a more resilient and inclusive labour market. Discussion also revolves around how to ensure adequate social protection and decent working conditions. Of key importance in the debate is how to avoid a situation where these new employment forms are less favourable to workers than more established types of employment.
In 2017, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights, setting out 20 core principles essential for well-functioning labour markets. The accompanying 2021 Action Plan notes that digitalisation and the changes brought about in the world of work by the pandemic warrant a wide policy debate that will focus not only on levels of labour market participation but also on adequate working conditions underpinning quality jobs.
The Commission also raised the issue of working conditions in its Communication on 'Shaping Europe’s digital future'. Good working conditions are at the core of a successful digital transition that would promote innovation and technological diffusion.
Eurofound’s work on new forms of employment links in with the Commission’s 2019–2024 priority on a Europe fit for the digital age.
