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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

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)

Het recht om offline te zijn: implementatie en impact op bedrijfsniveau

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
Arbeidstijd
Evenwicht tussen werk en privéleven
Arbeidsomstandigheden en duurzaam werk
Telewerken
Working conditions
Agreements
Labour and social regulation
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Hybride werken in Europa: wat houdt het in en hoe werkt het in de praktijk?

De term “hybride werken” werd algemeen bekend door de plotselinge toename van telewerken tijdens de COVID-19-pandemie, toen bedrijven en werknemers begonnen te bespreken op welke manieren het werk na de crisis kon worden georganiseerd. De term wordt steeds vaker gebruikt om situaties aan te duiden

25 May 2023
Publication
Research report
Arbeidsomstandigheden en duurzaam werk
Telewerken
Work organisation
Labour and social regulation
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De opkomst van telewerken: gevolgen voor arbeidsomstandigheden en regelgeving

In dit verslag presenteert Eurofound zijn onderzoek naar telewerken tijdens de COVID-19-pandemie in 2020 en 2021. Er wordt gekeken naar veranderingen in het aantal telewerkers, de werkomstandigheden van thuiswerkende werknemers en veranderingen in de regelgeving met betrekking tot deze werkregeling

08 December 2022
Publication
Research report
Nieuwe vormen van werk
Arbeidsomstandigheden en duurzaam werk
Working conditions
Telewerken
Employment relationship
COVID-19
Het digitale tijdperk: kansen en uitdagingen op het gebied van werk en werkgelegenheid
Labour and social regulation
Arbeidstijd
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Regelgeving inzake minimumlonen en andere vormen van beloning voor zelfstandigen

Dit verslag werd opgesteld in het kader van het driejarig (2021-2023) proefproject “De rol van het minimuminkomen bij de vaststelling van de universele arbeidsgarantie”, dat door de Europese Commissie in opdracht is gegeven aan Eurofound. Het verslag is gericht op de derde module van het project

30 November 2022
Publication
Research report
Salaris en inkomen
Minimumloon
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Arbeidsverhoudingen en sociale dialoog
Arbeidsverhoudingen
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Telewerken in de EU: regelgevingskaders en recente ontwikkelingen

In dit verslag worden de wetgeving en de collectieve onderhandelingen over telewerk in de 27 lidstaten en Noorwegen in kaart gebracht en onder de loep genomen. Onder andere wordt ingegaan op de belangrijkste verschillen en overeenkomsten tussen de landen wat betreft de wetgeving inzake telewerk en

01 September 2022
Publication
Research report
Arbeidstijd
Working conditions
Telewerken
Evenwicht tussen werk en privéleven
Work organisation
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Arbeidsverhoudingen en sociale dialoog
Arbeidsverhoudingen
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Minimumloon in 2022: Jaarlijkse evaluatie

Na een voorzichtige loonronde voor 2021 zijn de nominale minimumlonen voor 2022 aanzienlijk gestegen naarmate de negatieve gevolgen van de pandemie afnamen en de economieën en arbeidsmarkten verbeterden. In dit verband hebben 20 van de 21 EU-lidstaten met wettelijke minimumlonen hun tarieven

15 June 2022
Publication
Research report
Sociale dialoog
Social partners
Salaris en inkomen
Minimumloon
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Arbeidsverhoudingen en sociale dialoog
Arbeidsverhoudingen
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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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Minimumloon in 2021: Jaarlijkse evaluatie

In dit verslag wordt samengevat hoe de minimumlonen voor 2021 werden vastgesteld in 2020 – het jaar dat gekenmerkt werd door de COVID-19-pandemie. Het geeft een beeld van de moeilijkheden waarmee nationale beleidsmakers zich geconfronteerd zagen en van de wijze waarop zij bij hun besluitvorming over

10 June 2021
Publication
Research report
Sociale dialoog
Social partners
Salaris en inkomen
Working poor
Minimumloon
European Pillar of Social Rights
Collective bargaining
Labour and social regulation
Arbeidsverhoudingen en sociale dialoog
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Handicaps en integratie op de arbeidsmarkt: beleidstrends en ondersteuning in de EU-lidstaten

In dit verslag worden de beleidsontwikkelingen in de EU-lidstaten onderzocht die gericht zijn op de bevordering van de inclusie van personen met een handicap op de open arbeidsmarkt. Daarbij wordt met name aandacht besteed aan de drie stadia van de indiensttreding, het behoud van de baan en de

19 April 2021
Publication
Research report
Social policies
Openbare diensten
Working conditions
European Pillar of Social Rights
COVID-19
Disability and chronic disease
Labour market policies
Labour market participation
Levensomstandigheden en kwaliteit van het bestaan
Labour and social regulation
Online resources results (794)

Latvia: Latest working life developments – Q4 2017

The state budget for 2018, tax reforms, the ending of strike action by healthcare workers, and continued wage growth are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Latvia in the fourth quarter of 2017.

7 februari 2018
Article
Labour and social regulation
Minimum wage
Pay and income

Italy: New rules to protect call centre workers

Measures have been introduced in Italy to protect its 80,000 call centre workers from the negative effects of increasing competitive pressures on employment, delocalisation and working conditions. Employers and unions in the sector have also adopted new rules aimed at avoiding social dumping

24 januari 2018
Article
Labour and social regulation
New forms of employment
Non-standard employment
Pay and income

Estonia: New law to upgrade individual labour dispute mechanism

New regulations on resolving individual labour disputes were approved by parliament in June 2017. The changes, to take effect from 2018, are expected to make the out-of-court dispute resolution process simpler and clearer, while also giving labour dispute committees more authority.

16 november 2017
Article
Labour and social regulation

Latvia: Latest working life developments – Q2 2017

Restrictions on extended working hours and tax reforms in the healthcare sector, strike action by family doctors, and social partner discussions on the national minimum wage are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in

1 augustus 2017
Article
Public services
Industrial action
Minimum wage
Labour and social regulation
Living conditions and quality of life

Bulgaria: Latest working life developments – Q2 2017

The ongoing debate about raising the statutory minimum wage – and trade union opposition to requirements for large combustion plants – are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Bulgaria in the second quarter of 2017.

20 juli 2017
Article
Labour and social regulation
Minimum wage

Spain: High Court ruling abolishes recording of daily working time

The High Court has ruled that companies no longer need to keep a record of their employees’ daily working time, although they must still record overtime worked. This ruling, confirming an earlier initial ruling, has led to controversy between the social partners and forced the Labour Inspectorate to

7 juli 2017
Article
Labour and social regulation
Working time

Austria: Updated law against wage and social dumping comes into force

On 1 January 2017, Austria enacted a new law against wage and social dumping, updating (for the second time since 2015) regulations which first came into force in 2011. The law features the concept of customer liability and improves aspects of cross-border administrative prosecutions. However, its

19 juni 2017
Article
Labour and social regulation
Minimum wage
Labour law
Posted workers
Non-standard employment

United Kingdom: Latest working life developments – Q1 2017

The latest developments on Brexit, employment rights following the UK’s exit, figures on zero-hours contracts and in-work poverty, and legal developments on the ‘gig economy’ are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in

19 april 2017
Article
Non-standard employment
Employment status
Labour law
Labour and social regulation
Working poor

Norway: Whistle-blowing and freedom of speech in the workplace

New research suggests that, while the observed amount of wrongdoing in Norwegian workplaces and the proportion of employees who chose to report this has remained relatively stable, the number of reprisals against whistle-blowers rose between 2013 and 2016, while the effectiveness of employees’

19 april 2017
Article
Health and well-being at work
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Norway: Improving gender balance in management posts

While Norway has a good record on equal opportunities for women, the proportion of women in management is relatively low. A new report on the issue concludes that a gender-neutral approach rather than initiatives aimed at women only seems to be more successful in achieving gender balance.

26 januari 2017
Article
Gender equality
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work
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 juli 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 mei 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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