Il-Fondazzjoni Ewropea għat-Titjib tal-Kundizzjonijiet ta’ l-Għajxien u tax-Xogħol
L-aġenzija tripartitika tal-UE li tipprovdi għarfien biex tgħin fl-iżvilupp taʼ titjib ta' politiki soċjali, dwar l-impjiegi u dawk relatati max-xogħol.
Created in 1975, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) was set up to contribute to the planning and establishment of better living and working conditions through action designed to increase and disseminate knowledge likely to assist this development.
A bill banning exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts was introduced to parliament in July 2014 (although the government has resisted calls for an outright ban on such contracts). Exclusivity clauses stop workers from seeking work with other employers, even when no amount of work is set out in the employment contract.
The Italian government has agreed to favourable taxation of performance-related pay in companies that have signed decentralised collective agreements. The favourable rates will apply to up to €3,000 gross of performance-related pay for employees in the private sector, provided their 2013 income did not exceed €40,000, and has been extended for a further year.
In Cyprus, a draft bill to establish a guaranteed minimum income (GMI) benefit was voted on by the House of Representatives in July 2014. The GMI is seen as the cornerstone of current reform of the social security system, simplifying benefits and giving assistance to those most in need.
The Netherlands’ new Act on Work and Security will change employment and dismissal law. The aim is to create a new balance between ‘insiders’ – permanent employees who have high levels of protection – and ‘outsiders’, flexible workers who have little or no protection. The act was passed in July 2014 and comes into force in 2015.
In April 2014, social partners in Norway’s export industries, which set the trend for wage bargaining, concluded a new collective agreement for 2014–2016. The pay increase for all employees covered by it is estimated at 3.3%, but this will not be confirmed until 2015 when company negotiations are concluded.
After the troika intervention ended in Portugal in May 2014, important changes were made to employment rules. These allow companies to dismiss workers for ‘unsuitability’, and companies in crisis to suspend collective agreements. They also reduce the period for which expired collective agreements remain valid, and extend exceptional measures that undermine collective agreements on overtime pay.
Undeclared work has been a major issue in Romania for many years. One of the latest laws to try to tackle it has reduced social security contributions by five percentage points. Social partners cannot agree whether this will have the desired effect; some suggest that reducing VAT may have been a better solution.
Vacation vouchers, which public sector employees had been expected to get in 2014, will now be available from 2015. The vouchers can be used to purchase domestic holidays worth up to RON 5,400 per fiscal year (€1,219 as at December 3, 2014). The social partners see these vouchers as useful in developing Romanian tourism.
The Government of Croatia announced a proposal to outsource non-core services to the private sector. After strong resistance by trade unions and others, the government then suggested the creation of a spin-off publicly owned company to take on the employees and deliver the services. In the face of continued opposition, the government finally withdrew both proposals.
This series reports on developments in minimum wage rates across the EU, including how they are set and how they have developed over time in nominal and real terms. The series explores where there are statutory minimum wages or collectively agreed minimum wages in the Member States, as well as minimum wage coverage rates by gender.
Eurofound’s work on COVID-19 examines the far-reaching socioeconomic implications of the pandemic across Europe as they continue to impact living and working conditions. A key element of the research is the e-survey, conducted in three rounds – in April and July 2020 and in March 2021. This is complemented by the inclusion of research into the ongoing effects of the pandemic in much of Eurofound’s other areas of work.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2015. It provides an overview of trends in working conditions and quality of employment for the last 30 years. It covers issues such as employment status, working time duration and organisation, work organisation, learning and training, physical and psychosocial risk factors, health and safety, work–life balance, worker participation, earnings and financial security, work and health, and most recently also the future of work.
The European Restructuring Monitor has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This series includes its restructuring-related databases (events, support instruments and legislation) as well as case studies and publications.
Eurofound’s Flagship report series 'Challenges and prospects in the EU' comprise research reports that contain the key results of multiannual research activities and incorporate findings from different related research projects. Flagship reports are the major output of each of Eurofound’s strategic areas of intervention and have as their objective to contribute to current policy debates.
Eurofound’s European Company Survey (ECS) maps and analyses company policies and practices which can have an impact on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as the development of social dialogue in companies. This series consists of outputs from the ECS 2019, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
Eurofound's representativness studies are designed to allow the European Commission to identify the ‘management and labour’ whom it must consult under article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This series consists of studies of the representativeness of employer and worker organisations in various sectors.
This series reports on and updates latest information on the involvement of national social partners in policymaking. The series analyses the involvement of national social partners in the implementation of policy reforms within the framework of social dialogue practices, including their involvement in elaborating the National Reform Programmes (NRPs).
This series reports on the new forms of employment emerging across Europe that are driven by societal, economic and technological developments and are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. This series explores what characterises these new employment forms and what implications they have for working conditions and the labour market.
The European Company Survey (ECS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2004–2005, with the latest edition in 2019. The survey is designed to provide information on workplace practices to develop and evaluate socioeconomic policy in the EU. It covers issues around work organisation, working time arrangements and work–life balance, flexibility, workplace innovation, employee involvement, human resource management, social dialogue, and most recently also skills use, skills strategies and digitalisation.
This report investigates the convergence of Member States in various dimensions of living conditions. Indicators are drawn from the European Quality of Life Surveys and other surveys. The analysis pays special attention to particular subgroups such as young people and women. The analysis also investigates the key drivers of convergence in living conditions.
This joint publication with the European Environment Agency (EEA) presents the findings from complementary research carried out simultaneously by both agencies on the socioeconomic impacts of climate policies and measures. While Eurofound focuses particularly on the distributional effects of these policies based on the experiences of Member States, the EEA analyses scientific research about the monetary and non-monetary social impacts of climate mitigation policies and its outcome in terms of inequalities.
This report addresses the main developments in statutory and collectively agreed working time regulation in 2019 and 2020. It covers several aspects of the duration of working time in the EU, such as information on maximum numbers of working days and weeks, normal working weeks and paid annual leave across the countries and within selected sectors. The report focuses on the education, health, transport, retail and public administration sectors, and provides accounts of major developments in working time regulation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This policy brief uses the data from the European Company Survey 2019 to examine the workplace practices of export-oriented companies and to analyse how these practices relate to outcomes. It also examines why these companies choose the workplace practices they adopt.
This report examines the labour market changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected sectors and occupations quite differently. It identifies those labour market categories most exposed to negative labour market outcomes. It analyses how differences in confinement and public health approaches may have contributed to different outcomes. It addresses previous assessments of the extent of occupational ‘teleworkability’ and of the sectoral impact of confinement rules. The report draws on EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) data for its analysis.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the audiovisual sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of this Eurofound study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the audiovisual sector in the EU Member States.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the live performance sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of this Eurofound study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the live performance sector in the EU Member States.
This report analyses and compares the industrial relations landscape in a number of sectors and activities that form a public service cluster. The report draws on Eurofound’s recent representativeness studies investigating the following sectors: education, human health, central government administration and local and regional government sector (including social services).
Building on Eurofound’s previous research on youth, this report examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young people, in particular their economic and social situation, with a focus on employment. It will also estimate how the NEET population – young people not in employment, education or training – has changed in size and composition over the last decade, and how the current crisis might affect this.
This report explores the impact of the use of digital technologies on work organisation and job quality, as well as the role of social dialogue and employee involvement in the digitisation process. The three technologies analysed are the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and virtual and augmented reality. The report draws on the views of experts and policy stakeholders and includes insights from 10 case studies of European establishments that have deployed one or more of the three digital technologies.
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