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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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Hybrid work in Europe: Concept and practice

The term ‘hybrid work’ was popularised with the upsurge of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, when companies and employees started to discuss ways of organising work after the crisis. The...

25 Bealtaine 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)

Right to disconnect: Implementation and impact at company level

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
Working time
Work-life balance
Working conditions and sustainable work
Teleworking
Working conditions
Agreements
Labour and social regulation
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Hybrid work in Europe: Concept and practice

The term ‘hybrid work’ was popularised with the upsurge of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, when companies and employees started to discuss ways of organising work after the crisis. The term has been increasingly used to refer to situations in which (teleworkable) work is carried out from two

25 May 2023
Publication
Research report
Working conditions and sustainable work
Teleworking
Work organisation
Labour and social regulation
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The rise in telework: Impact on working conditions and regulations

This report presents Eurofound’s research on telework during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. It explores changes in the incidence of telework, working conditions experienced by employees working from home and changes to regulations addressing issues related to this working arrangement.

08 December 2022
Publication
Research report
New forms of employment
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Teleworking
Employment relationship
COVID-19
Digitalisation
Labour and social regulation
Working time
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Regulating minimum wage and other forms of pay for the self-employed

This report is carried out in the context of the three-year pilot project (2021–2023), ‘Role of the minimum wage in establishing the Universal Labour Guarantee’, mandated to Eurofound by the European Commission. Its focus is module 3 of the project, investigating minimum wages and other forms of pay

30 November 2022
Publication
Research report
Pay and income
Minimum wage
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Industrial relations
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Telework in the EU: Regulatory frameworks and recent updates

This report sets out to map and analyse legislation and collective bargaining on telework in the 27 Member States and Norway. It highlights the main cross-country differences and similarities regarding telework legislation and recent changes to these regulations. It also examines the current situati

01 September 2022
Publication
Research report
Working time
Working conditions
Teleworking
Work-life balance
Work organisation
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Industrial relations
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Minimum wages in 2022: Annual review

After a cautious round of minimum wage setting for 2021, nominal rates rose significantly for 2022 as the negative consequences of the pandemic eased and economies and labour markets improved. In this context, 20 of the 21 EU Member States with statutory minimum wages raised their rates.

15 June 2022
Publication
Research report
Social dialogue
Social partners
Pay and income
Minimum wage
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Industrial relations
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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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Minimum wages in 2021: Annual review

This report summarises how minimum wage rates for 2021 were set during 2020 – the year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. It reviews the difficulties faced by national decision-makers and how they reacted to the challenges of the economic and social fall-out of the pandemic when making decisions regar

10 June 2021
Publication
Research report
Social dialogue
Social partners
Pay and income
Working poor
Minimum wage
European Pillar of Social Rights
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
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Disability and labour market integration: Policy trends and support in EU Member States

This report examines policy developments in EU Member States aimed at supporting the inclusion of people with disabilities in the open labour market, with a particular focus on the three stages of entering into employment, staying in the job and returning to work after an absence. It explores the

19 April 2021
Publication
Research report
Social policies
Public services
Working conditions
European Pillar of Social Rights
COVID-19
Disability and chronic disease
Labour market policies
Labour market participation
Living conditions and quality of life
Labour and social regulation
Online resources results (794)

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 Feabhra 2016
Article
Employment and labour markets
Labour market policies
Labour and social regulation

Cyprus: Amendment of law on minimum guaranteed income

In August 2015, legal amendments came into force allowing more people in Cyprus to receive a minimum guaranteed income. The government estimates the move will cost €11 million. Approximately 20,000 households had been approved for GMI benefit by November 2015, two months before the application

5 Feabhra 2016
Article
Minimum wage
Social protection
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Social policies
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

France: Government launches major reform of the labour market

On 4 November, the government presented the outline of its bill, 'A labour code for the 21st century' ,aimed at reforming the French labour code.

21 Eanáir 2016
Article
Collective bargaining
Social dialogue
Labour law
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Spain: A first assessment of the 2012 labour market reform

The impacts of the 2012 labour market reform have been mixed and not necessarily clear cut. Employers’ representatives have generally welcomed the changes, but suggested flexibility should be further encouraged. Trade unions claim the quality of employment has deteriorated and labour precariousness

23 Nollaig 2015
Article
Labour market policies
Employment and labour markets
Labour and social regulation

EU level: ECJ rules that travel time is treated as working time

Unions have welcomed a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that travel time for mobile workers should be treated as working time. Employer organisations have not commented, but the UK's umbrella national employer organisation, the CBI, has said it is vital the UK’s opt-out from the EU

22 Nollaig 2015
Article
Labour law
Labour and social regulation

Norway: Reaction to new Working Environment Act

The hotly debated changes to Norway’s Working Environment Act came into force on 1 July 2015. They affect temporary employment, working time, age limits, maximum penalties and the collective right to sue. Protests over the changes led to the first general strike since 1998. Opposition parties have

22 Nollaig 2015
Article
Labour law
Labour and social regulation

EU level: European Accessibility Act proposed by the European Commission

On 2 December, the European Commission proposed a Directive on European Accessibility, aimed at ensuring the appropriate requirements of key products and services for people with disabilities.

16 Nollaig 2015
Article
Disability and chronic disease
Working conditions
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work

France: Dispute about wearing Islamic headscarf referred to EU Court of Justice

A dispute over a French IT worker being dismissed for refusing to take off her hijab has been referred to the EU Court of Justice. The woman had been asked to remove the headscarf after one of her employer’s customers said it made staff uncomfortable. The CJEU must decide whether a customer’s wishes

16 Nollaig 2015
Article
Labour law
Labour and social regulation

Bulgaria: One-day labour contracts introduced

Farmers now have the option to offer one-day contracts for harvest work.

14 Nollaig 2015
Article
Working conditions
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Ireland: New law welcomed on collective bargaining

A law giving employees the right to bargain collectively has been passed in Ireland after a great deal of debate. Until now, under the constitution, a worker’s right to join a union has effectively been cancelled out by an employer’s right not to recognise a union for bargaining purposes. However

4 Nollaig 2015
Article
Collective bargaining
Employee representation
Social partners
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Blogs results (12)
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Member States still getting to grips with the single labour market

The European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work last year documented the case of a Dutch temporary work agency that hired workers of various nationalities to work for a construction company in Belgium. The wages were suspiciously low, and the Belgian Labour Inspectorate believed that EU law

17 Iúil 2019
Helen Burke
Blog
Posted workers
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Undeclared work
Fraudulent work
Labour and social regulation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Industrial relations
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Tackling trafficking for labour exploitation in Europe: new way forward together

The European Union (EU) has strong legislation in place that protects workers from being exploited and also enables businesses to engage in fair competition. Workers are mobile and can move freely within the EU single market across borders – without being dependent upon traffickers. Yet, the latest

3 Bealtaine 2016
Andrea Fromm
Blog
Fraudulent work
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Employment and labour markets
Migration and mobility
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

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