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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.

Topic

Recent updates

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Hübriidtöö Euroopas: kontseptsioon ja praktika

Termin „hübriidtöö“ sai populaarseks seoses kaugtöö levikuga COVID-19 pandeemia ajal, kui ettevõtted ja töötajad hakkasid arutama, kuidas korraldada tööd pärast kriisi. Seda mõistet on üha enam kasutatud, et osutada olukordadele...

25 Mai 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)

Õigus mitte olla kättesaadav: rakendamine ja mõju ettevõtte tasandil

This report explores EU Member States’ legislation around the right to disconnect and assesses the impact of company policies in this area on employees’ hours of connection, working time, work–life balance, health and well-being, and overall workplace satisfaction.

30 November 2023
Publication
Research report
Tööaeg
Töö- ja eraelu tasakaal
Töötingimused ja kestlik töö
Kaugtöö
Working conditions
Agreements
Labour and social regulation
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Hübriidtöö Euroopas: kontseptsioon ja praktika

Termin „hübriidtöö“ sai populaarseks seoses kaugtöö levikuga COVID-19 pandeemia ajal, kui ettevõtted ja töötajad hakkasid arutama, kuidas korraldada tööd pärast kriisi. Seda mõistet on üha enam kasutatud, et osutada olukordadele, kus (kaugtöötatav) töö toimub kahes kohas: tavapärases töökohas

25 May 2023
Publication
Research report
Töötingimused ja kestlik töö
Kaugtöö
Work organisation
Labour and social regulation
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Kaugtöö kasv: mõju töötingimustele ja -eeskirjadele

Aruanne tutvustab Eurofoundi uuringut kaugtöö kohta COVID-19 pandeemia ajal 2020. ja 2021. aastal. Selles uuritakse kaugtöö sageduse muutusi, kodunt töötamise tingimusi ja kaugtöö eeskirjade muutumist. Selgus, et pandeemia tõttu sagenes kaugtöö järsult: 2021. aastal kaugtöötas kaks kümnendikku

08 December 2022
Publication
Research report
Uued tööhõivevormid
Töötingimused ja kestlik töö
Working conditions
Kaugtöö
Employment relationship
COVID-19
Digiajastu töö ja töövormide väljavaated ning probleemid
Labour and social regulation
Tööaeg
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Füüsilisest isikust ettevõtjate miinimumpalga ja muude palgavormide reguleerimine

Aruanne koostatakse kolmeaastase katseprojekti (2021–2023) „Miinimumpalga roll üldise töögarantii kehtestamisel“ raames, mille Euroopa Komisjon on delegeerinud Eurofoundile. See keskendub projekti 3. moodulile, milles uuritakse miinimumpalka ja füüsilisest isikust ettevõtjate muid palgavorme. Teatud

30 November 2022
Publication
Research report
Töötasu ja sissetulek
Miinimumpalk
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Töösuhted ja sotsiaaldialoog
Töösuhted
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Kaugtöö ELis: õigusraamistikud ja hiljutised uuendused

Selle aruande eesmärk on kaardistada ja analüüsida kaugtöö valdkonna õigusakte ja kollektiivläbirääkimisi 27 liikmesriigis ja Norras. Aruandes tuuakse esile peamised riikidevahelised erinevused ja sarnasused seoses kaugtöö valdkonna õigusaktide ja nende hiljutiste muudatustega. Samuti uuritakse

01 September 2022
Publication
Research report
Tööaeg
Working conditions
Kaugtöö
Töö- ja eraelu tasakaal
Work organisation
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Töösuhted ja sotsiaaldialoog
Töösuhted
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Miinimumpalk 2022. aastal. Aastaülevaade

Pärast miinimumpalga ettevaatlikku kehtestamist 2021. aastal suurenesid nominaalmäärad 2022. aastal oluliselt, sest pandeemia negatiivsed tagajärjed leevenesid ning majandus ja tööturud paranesid. Sellega seoses suurendasid miinimumpalka 20 ELi liikmesriiki 21st, kus on seadusjärgne miinimumpalk

15 June 2022
Publication
Research report
Sotsiaaldialoog
Social partners
Töötasu ja sissetulek
Miinimumpalk
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Töösuhted ja sotsiaaldialoog
Töösuhted
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Ethics in the digital workplace

Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns. Recently, the policy debate surrounding these concerns has become more prominent and has

30 May 2022
Publication
Research report
Social dialogue
Social policies
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Digitalisation
Labour and social regulation
Job quality
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Working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2021

This publication consists of individual country reports on working life during 2021 for 28 countries – the 27 EU Member States and Norway. The country reports summarise evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working life based on national research and survey results during 2021. They

19 May 2022
Publication
Other
Social dialogue
Social partners
Pay and income
Working time
Working conditions
COVID-19
Industrial action
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Industrial relations
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Miinimumpalk 2021. aastal. Aastaülevaade

Aruandes on kokkuvõte sellest, kuidas 2020. aastal – mil maailmas oli COVID-19 pandeemia – kehtestati miinimumpalgad 2021. aastaks. Aruandes on ülevaade liikmesriikide otsustajate kohatud raskustest ning sellest, kuidas nad tulid toime miinimumpalgaga seotud otsuste tegemisel pandeemiast tingitud

10 June 2021
Publication
Research report
Sotsiaaldialoog
Social partners
Töötasu ja sissetulek
Working poor
Miinimumpalk
European Pillar of Social Rights
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Töösuhted ja sotsiaaldialoog
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Puue ja tööturule integreerimine: poliitilised suundumused ja toetus ELi liikmesriikides

Selles aruandes käsitletakse ELi liikmesriikide poliitilisi arengusuundumusi, millega toetatakse puuetega inimeste kaasamist avatud tööturule, keskendudes eelkõige tööle asumise, tööl püsimise ja pärast äraolekut tööle naasmise kolmele etapile. Selles uuritakse enam kui 150 sellise erineva

19 April 2021
Publication
Research report
Social policies
Avalikud teenused
Working conditions
European Pillar of Social Rights
COVID-19
Disability and chronic disease
Labour market policies
Labour market participation
Elamistingimused ja elukvaliteet
Labour and social regulation
Online resources results (793)

Finland: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

Talks on the Competitiveness Pact, threats to the formation of a new peak-level organisation, and an agreement on a wage freeze are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Finland in the first quarter of 2016.

20 aprill 2016
Article
Working time
Social dialogue
Social partners
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Hungary: Vocational training system gets major overhaul

Hungary is undergoing a major transformation of its education system. The number of Vocational Education and Training (VET) schools needed is under review and responsibility for their supervision is being transferred to the Ministry for National Economy (NGM).

20 aprill 2016
Article
Working conditions
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work

Spain: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

The discussions and deals between political parties after the general election of December 2015, the slow recovery of the labour market and trade union membership losses are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Spain

20 aprill 2016
Article
Working time
Teleworking
Non-standard employment
Employee representation
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Slovenia: Controversy over amendments to the Minimum Wage Act

The definition of the minimum wage in Slovenia was changed at the end of November 2015. From 1 January 2016, the allowances for unfavourable working time (night, Sunday and holiday work) are exempted from it and paid separately. Trade unions are pleased, but employer organisations were outraged and

15 aprill 2016
Article
Minimum wage
Pay and income
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue

United Kingdom: National living wage comes into force

A statutory ‘national living wage’ comes into force in the United Kingdom on 1 April 2016 and will be phased in over four years, with the aim of reaching 60% of median UK earnings by 2020. Trade unions have welcomed the move while employer groups have expressed concern about some businesses’ ability

29 märts 2016
Article
Working poor
Pay and income
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Ireland: National Minimum Wage rise follows Low Pay Commission report

The first rise in Ireland's National Minimum Wage (NMW) since 2007 was implemented on January 1, 2016. It comes after a recommendation in the Low Pay Commission’s first annual report to increase the NMW by 50 cents per hour to a new hourly rate of €9.15.

11 märts 2016
Article
Labour law
Employment and labour markets
Labour market policies
Labour and social regulation
Minimum wage
Pay and income
Living conditions and quality of life

Greece: Court rules cut to civil servants' lump sum benefits is constitutional

The Greek Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that cuts to a teacher's lump sum benefit (payable to public servants on retirement) were not illegal. The teacher had claimed the 34.27% reduction imposed as part of financial austerity measures was unconstitutional. The judgement has yet to be

10 märts 2016
Article
Labour and social regulation

Finland: Changes in legislation lead to earlier return to work after prolonged sickness absence

Legislative changes in Finland regarding sickness absence appear to have boosted the proportion of employees returning to work.

9 märts 2016
Article
Leave
Disability and chronic disease
Social protection
Employment and labour markets
Labour and social regulation

Norway: General application of collective agreements in the transport sector

General application of collective agreements in the Norwegian transport sector were put in force in 2015 to help regulate pay and employment conditions for foreign drivers.

9 märts 2016
Article
Collective bargaining
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Italy: Streamlining of social safety nets in new Jobs Act

Unions in Italy are divided over reforms in the new Jobs Act regarding welfare payments for workers who are temporarily unemployed. Employer organisations, however, have generally welcomed the way the act has streamlined certain measures.

16 veebruar 2016
Article
Employment and labour markets
Labour market policies
Labour and social regulation
Blogs results (12)
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Regulating platform work in Europe: A work in progress

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 september 2022
Dragoș Adăscăliței
Blog
Platform work
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Digitalisation
Labour and social regulation
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Resumed EU Semester calls for better involvement of the social partners in implementing recovery and resilience plans

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 Mai 2022
Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras
Blog
Social partners
European Pillar of Social Rights
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
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Platform cooperatives ensure caring in the sharing economy

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 märts 2022
Beate Steurer
Blog
New forms of employment
Employment relationship
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Digitalisation
Labour and social regulation
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Gender pay transparency: Advancing the cause through a truly European proposal

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 juuni 2021
Christine Aumayr-Pintar
Blog
Pay and income
Working conditions and sustainable work
Gender equality
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
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As Member States take different approaches to regulating telework, will the EU bring them into line?

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 Mai 2021
Federica De Blasio
Blog
Working conditions and sustainable work
Teleworking
Digitalisation
Labour and social regulation
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Does the new telework generation need a right to disconnect?

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 detsember 2020
Oscar Vargas Llave
Blog
Working conditions and sustainable work
Work-life balance
Collective bargaining
Agreements
Digitalisation
Teleworking
Labour and social regulation
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
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Are simple statistics enough? On the benefits of gender pay reports and audits

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 november 2020
Christine Aumayr-Pintar
Blog
Pay and income
Gender equality
Discrimination at work
Labour and social regulation
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Racial discrimination is not a thing of the past in the EU

25 juuni 2020
Anna Gallinat
Blog
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Discrimination at work
Inclusive labour markets
Migration and mobility
Labour and social regulation
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Can short-time working save jobs during the COVID-19 crisis?

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 Mai 2020
Tina Weber
Blog
COVID-19
Labour market policies
Labour and social regulation
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Economic downturns expose the vulnerability of a growing number of precarious workers

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 aprill 2020
Tina Weber
Blog
COVID-19
Non-standard employment
Employment status
Labour and social regulation
Employment and labour markets

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