Publications

Changes in the behaviour of employers regarding occupational health and safety, as well as activities by the National Labour Inspectorate and employees’ representatives, have contributed to a decrease in the number of accidents in the workplace. A recent report provides a comprehensive overview of trends in accidents in organisations within the inspectorate’s authority.

The Shared Parental Leave (SPL) regulations came into force on the 1st of December 2014 and apply to eligible parents where a baby is due, or a child is placed for adoption, on or after 5 April 2015. This report outlines the details of the scheme and then presents the findings of a number of evaluative surveys, which have identified low take-up. The report will then focus on the reasons behind low use and will summarise the recommendations for improvements proposed by key bodies.

This report examines developments in non-standard employment over the last decade. It looks at trends in the main categories of non-standard employment – temporary, temporary agency and part-time work and self-employment – based mainly on data from the European Union Labour Force Survey. It discusses some aspects of the labour market situation of workers in these categories including wages and the extent to which they would prefer a standard employment status.

On 2 February 2017, representatives of the national social partners and the National Labour Council concluded the Interprofessional Agreement 2017–2018, the first such agreement since 2010. The agreement covers the wage norm, improvements in welfare benefits, the extension and adaptation of the agreements on early retirement, and an agenda for further consultation and negotiation.

New government legislation to reduce financial inequalities in the public sector will see workers receive considerable wage increases, the introduction of paid overtime and a reduction in the wage gap. However, some employer organisations fear such legislation could see an exodus of workers from the private sector and have an impact on Romania's finances.

The ‘working poor’ are a substantial group, the latest estimate putting 10% of European workers at risk of poverty, up from 8% in 2007. This report describes the development of in-work poverty in the EU since the crisis of 2008, picking up where an earlier Eurofound report on this subject, published in 2010, ended and looks at what countries have done to combat the problem since.

Italy’s parliament has introduced new voucher-based work schemes for occasional work. The regulations cap the amount that can be earned or paid in this way, and companies with more than five permanent employees may not use vouchers. However, there are few other limits on voucher-based work and the social partners have been critical.

The Taylor Review, commissioned by the UK government and published in July 2017, set out to determine best practices in modern employment and to define the basic rights of workers in light of widely publicised cases of poor working conditions. However, despite the review’s many recommendations, there is no legal requirement for the government to implement any of them.

A collective agreement implementing ‘right to bargain’ legislation has been negotiated between the Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union and food preparation company Freshways Food. This includes union–management relations, rules on industrial action, and union access to the company’s financial information. Freshways had previously opposed trade union recognition, as allowed by Irish law.

A proposal to bring in a law allowing part-time workers in Germany to claim a full-time job has failed. The ruling coalition of the Social and Christian Democrats could not agree on the extent of the initiative. The proposal was put forward by Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Andrea Nahles.