Publications

The reactions of social partners to the latest developments in the Brexit negotiations, the government’s labour market strategy and a proposed new statutory code on sexual harassment in the workplace are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in the UK in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Gender wage differences, the participation of older workers in the labour force and the 80-year-old agreement that established the framework for collective bargaining in Sweden are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Sweden in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Planned amendments to the minimum income scheme, the start of the annual bargaining round and the opening of GPA-djp negotiations for crowdworkers are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Austria in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Building on the analysis of national apprenticeship systems in the 2018 Eurofound report Adaptation of national apprenticeship systems to advanced manufacturing, this report summarises the results of 14 case studies of good practice in the manufacturing sector in five EU Member States (Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland and Italy) and two countries outside Europe (Australia and the United States).

For those of us of a certain age, the European Union has always been a driver for peace, freedom and citizens’ rights. It is an integration project that has carried the idea of social progress in its DNA since the Treaty of Rome. The EU can only advance if it is able to combine economic progress, freedom and social justice, so it is not surprising that one of the first Agencies created by the European Communities was the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions or Eurofound for short (often referred to in the past as the ‘Dublin Foundation’ due to its location).

This report explores the potential employment and economic impacts of an EU transition to a low-carbon economy by 2030 – on the EU, and on other regions of the world. It analyses the impacts across sectors and occupations, with a particular focus on manufacturing.

In the majority of Member States, the minimum wages rates were increased in January 2019. The first findings on the minimum wage-setting process during 2018 show that a rise in political influence in some countries and issues regarding the transparent and predictable way of setting minimum wages in others played an important role this year. Positive economic developments in most Member States strengthened the demand for larger increases in the minimum wage.

In the context of ongoing negotiations at EU level on adopting a work–life balance package for families and caregivers, Eurofound was requested by the European Commission to provide an update of the available data regarding paternity and parental leave for fathers. This report presents the currently available national statistics on the uptake of family-related leave by fathers over time across the EU28 and Norway, based on information compiled by the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.

Much policy is developed and operationalised through the prism of age, and addressing differences in the economic and social circumstances of different age groups is an ongoing concern of policymakers. This policy brief looks at inequalities in the quality of life of Europeans across six age groups.

One year after Germany’s introduction of the Entgelttransparenzgesetz (Wage Transparency Act), the results are somewhat underwhelming. This law is Germany’s take on the European Commission’s recommendation on introducing pay transparency measures to combat the gender pay gap.