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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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Regulatory responses to algorithmic management in the EU

Since 2013, Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legislation has been documenting regulatory developments in the Member States of the European Union and Norway. The most recent update to the database...

Article
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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)

Economically dependent workers, employment law and industrial relations (info sheet)

Information sheets set out a brief overview of each project, forming a useful introduction point. They answer key questions as to: What is the project about? Why is the research being carried out? What are the findings/objectives and whom do they concern? When will the project be completed? How

11 June 2003
Publication
Information sheet
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Social protection
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Online resources results (794)

Proposal to exempt long-term unemployed people from legal minimum wage

The Dutch Government wants to allow employers temporary exemptions from the legal minimum wage [1] (WML- wettelijk minimumloon), and to that end, a bill was submitted to Parliament in 1996. The target group consists of long-term unemployed people aged between 20 and 65. The purpose of the bill is to

27 veebruar 1997
Article
Pay and income
Minimum wage
Labour and social regulation
Unemployment
Labour market policies

Implementation of the tripartite Pact for Employment

The Italian Government and social partners are currently implementing their tripartite "Pact for Employment" (Patto per il Lavoro), which is intended to promote employment and foster economic development in Italy through the introduction of a wide and complex set of policies. The agreement, signed

27 veebruar 1997
Article
Labour market policies
Labour and social regulation
Employment and labour markets

Moves towards greater working time flexibility

The central social partners - the Austrian Trade Union Confederation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund,ÖGB) and the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKÖ), the statutory body grouping almost all nonagricultural enterprises - have for some time been discussing a range of

27 veebruar 1997
Article
Working time
Labour law
Labour and social regulation

Unemployment as the focus for collective bargaining at national level

In recent years pressure has mounted on all parties involved to rethink and revise the traditional policies and practices of Greek industrial relations as well as to promote social dialogue between employers and employees. As a result of changing conditions, some believe that a new era in industrial

27 veebruar 1997
Article
Social dialogue
Labour law
Skills and training
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
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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