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Non-standard employment

Non-standard employment is an umbrella term for different employment arrangements that deviate from standard employment. They include temporary employment; part-time and on-call work; temporary agency work and other multiparty employment relationships; as well as disguised employment and dependent self-employment. The most relevant of possible future developments of non-standard work, whatever their contractual form, are related to digitalisation.

Topic

Recent updates

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Job insecurity undermines democracy

Workers on non-permanent contracts and workers with no formal contract are less satisfied with the functioning of democracy in their country, as are workers experiencing job insecurity. They are less...

1 syyskuu 2023
Corporate news

Eurofound expert(s)

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Carlos Vacas‑Soriano

Carlos Vacas Soriano is a research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He works on topics related to wage and income inequalities, minimum wages, low pay, job quality...

Research manager,
Employment research unit
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Dragoș Adăscăliței

Dragoș Adăscăliței is a research officer in the Employment unit at Eurofound. His current research focuses on topics related to the future of work, including the impact of...

Research officer,
Employment research unit
Publications results (55)

Foundation Focus - Issue 3: Equal opportunities – the catch-up game

This issue of Foundation Focus places the spotlight on equal opportunities, viewed in the light of recent policy developments at EU and national level and based on Foundation research findings in this area. The aim of the series is to explore a subject of social and economic policy importance and

14 May 2007
Publication
Foundation Focus
Disability and chronic disease
Gender equality
Job quality
Employment and labour markets
Migration and mobility
Non-standard employment
Living conditions and quality of life
Social policies
Working conditions
Working time
Working conditions and sustainable work

Työaika sekä työn ja yksityiselämän tasapaino työpaikoilla Euroopassa

The Foundation carried out a comprehensive survey on working time and work–life balance in more than 21 000 European workplaces between autumn 2004 and spring 2005. The countries surveyed included the 15 ‘old’ Member States of the European Union (EU15) and six of the new Member States: the Czech

09 May 2006
Publication
Information sheet
Non-standard employment
Eläkkeelle siirtyminen
Työ- ja yksityiselämän tasapaino
Työaika

Working conditions and working time in an enlarged Europe (report)

Working conditions and working time in an enlarged Europe presents a comparative study of working time in 10 central and eastern European countries (CEECs). Eight of these countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) are among the 10 new Member

17 November 2005
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Working time
Working conditions
Collective bargaining
Industrial relations
Employment and labour markets
Labour law
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Vuokrattava työ Euroopan unionissa (Tiivistelmä)

Euroopan talouden ja sosiaalipolitiikan toimijat ovat keskustelleet työn ja työmarkkinoiden joustavuudesta viimeisten kymmenen vuoden aikana. Tämä tiivistelmä perustuu vuokrattavaa työtä koskevaan tutkimukseen, jonka Euroopan elin- ja työolojen kehittämissäätiö teki Euroopan unionin 15

27 June 2002
Publication
Résumé
Työllisyys ja työmarkkinat
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Työolot ja kestävä työ

Temporary agency work - United Kingdom

This national report examines the main trends in temporary agency work and the problems and challenges it poses in the UK. It puts the spotlight on the working conditions of temporary agency workers, and the specific features of such work that might help explain these conditions.

13 June 2002
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Temporary agency work - Portugal

This national report examines the main trends in temporary agency work and the problems and challenges it poses in Portugal. It puts the spotlight on the working conditions of temporary agency workers, and the specific features of such work that might help explain these conditions.

10 June 2002
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Temporary agency work - Italy

This national report examines the main trends in temporary agency work and the problems and challenges it poses in Italy. It puts the spotlight on the working conditions of temporary agency workers, and the specific features of such work that might help explain these conditions.

16 May 2002
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Temporary agency work - Ireland

This national report examines the main trends in temporary agency work and the problems and challenges it poses in Ireland. It puts the spotlight on the working conditions of temporary agency workers, and the specific features of such work that might help explain these conditions.

15 May 2002
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Temporary agency work - France

This national report examines the main trends in temporary agency work and the problems and challenges it poses in France. It puts the spotlight on the working conditions of temporary agency workers, and the specific features of such work that might help explain these conditions.

07 May 2002
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment

Temporary agency work - Austria

This national report examines the main trends in temporary agency work and the problems and challenges it poses in Austria. It puts the spotlight on the working conditions of temporary agency workers, and the specific features of such work that might help explain these conditions.

23 April 2002
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Online resources results (249)

Portugal: Temporary agency work on the rise

23 toukokuu 2016
Article
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

France: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

Government plans to combat high levels of unemployment, controversial revisions to the Labour Code, negotiations about unemployment insurance schemes and the impact of digitalisation on working life are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest

16 toukokuu 2016
Article
Non-standard employment
Labour law
Labour market policies
Teleworking
Job quality
Work-life balance
Working time
Social dialogue
Working conditions
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Poland: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

The re-emergence of conflict in the coal-mining sector, noticeable pay pressure, significant changes to labour law and the new child benefit are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Poland in the first quarter of 2016.

10 toukokuu 2016
Article
Retirement
Non-standard employment
Labour law
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Germany: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

Trade union membership growth, the draft bill on temporary agency work and elections in three federal states are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Germany in the first quarter of 2016.

20 huhtikuu 2016
Article
Migration and mobility
Non-standard employment
Employee representation
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

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 huhtikuu 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

Italy: Developments in working life – Q1 2016

Consultation on the renewal of industrial relations regulations, a proposal for a Charter of Universal Labour Rights, new rules on self-employment and 'smart working', and negotiations for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement in the metalworking sector are the main topics of interest

19 huhtikuu 2016
Article
Non-standard employment
Collective bargaining
Social dialogue
Labour law
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Finland: Job quality in temporary and part-time work

​A Finnish study on job quality finds that people working in part-time jobs and on temporary contracts experience poorer job quality – in many important respects – than their counterparts in permanent, full-time jobs. They have fewer opportunities for skills development and less discretion in their

4 helmikuu 2016
Article
Job quality
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work

Slovenia: Growth of precarious work in the media sector

The media sector in Slovenia is characterised by high rate of precarious work, especially among young people. The management of the largest national media company RTV Slovenia has already been warned by the Labour Inspectorate against violating labour legislation.

1 helmikuu 2016
Article
Non-standard employment
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Denmark: Trade union LO open to dialogue with Uber

Newly elected President of LO, Lizette Risgaard, has invited the on-call taxi company Uber to social dialogue.

30 tammikuu 2016
Article
Employment relationship
Non-standard employment
Employment status
Social partners
Working conditions
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Greece: Tripartite social dialogue to combat undeclared work

Although official statistics show that undeclared work in Greece is falling, social partners and the Labour Inspectorate fear that the full extent of illegal work is not being accurately measured. They feel this is a threat to the sustainability of the social security system and are calling for the

2 marraskuu 2015
Article
Non-standard employment
Fraudulent work
Social dialogue
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Blogs results (7)
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New forms of employment in Europe – How new is new?

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 joulukuu 2020
Irene Mandl
Blog
Platform work
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
New forms of employment
Employment relationship
Teleworking
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work
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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 huhtikuu 2020
Tina Weber
Blog
COVID-19
Non-standard employment
Employment status
Labour and social regulation
Employment and labour markets
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ICT-enabled flexible working – All plain sailing?

Imagine you’re at work and something happens: you have to leave to visit a client, you have to go home to let in the plumber, or you have to collect the kids from school as the football training has just been cancelled. If you’re lucky, your employer gives you the flexibility to do this. If you’re

14 toukokuu 2019
Oscar Vargas Llave
Blog
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
New forms of employment
Inclusive labour markets
Digitalisation
Employment and labour markets
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Working conditions and sustainable work
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Stamping out fraud in hiring practices across Europe

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 kesäkuu 2018
Isabella Biletta
Blog
Non-standard employment
Posted workers
Working conditions and sustainable work
Employment relationship
Fraudulent work
The many faces of self-employment In Europe

The many faces of self-employment in Europe

While the Europe 2020 strategy actively promotes entrepreneurial self-employment as a means to create good jobs, policy makers at national and EU level are actively looking at better social protection for self-employed workers. Understanding this paradox requires looking beyond the ‘self-employed’

26 lokakuu 2017
Mathijn Wilkens
Blog
Inequality
Job creation
Non-standard employment
Working conditions and sustainable work
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Employment shifts in Europe during the recovery: three little noticed trends

The EU has finally recovered all the net employment losses sustained since the global financial crisis. It has been a long and painful process. But there is at last growing evidence of positive momentum in EU labour markets, if not quite ‘animal spirits’. Many of those member states most affected by

26 heinäkuu 2017
John Hurley
Blog
Employment structure
Gender equality
Job creation
Employment and labour markets
Non-standard employment
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The rise of temporary contracts in Europe

More than one in 10 employees in the EU are employed on temporary contracts, but a majority of them would prefer a permanent contract. Temporary contracts help employers to manage their labour demand, but there are downsides for employees, such as job insecurity and lower pay.

19 helmikuu 2016
Eurofound
Blog
Employment and labour markets
Non-standard employment
Pay and income
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working poor

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