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Non-standard employment

Non-standard employment is an umbrella term for different employment arrangements that deviate from standard employment. They include temporary employment; part-time and on-call work; temporary agency work and other multiparty employment relationships; as well as disguised employment and dependent self-employment. The most relevant of possible future developments of non-standard work, whatever their contractual form, are related to digitalisation.

Topic

Recent updates

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Job insecurity undermines democracy

Workers on non-permanent contracts and workers with no formal contract are less satisfied with the functioning of democracy in their country, as are workers experiencing job insecurity. They are less...

1 September 2023
Corporate news
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Societal implications of labour market instability

This report investigates the social groups whose attachment to the labour market may be unstable and who are most likely to have non-standard working arrangements, and the implications of such...

29 August 2023
Publication
Research report

Eurofound expert(s)

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Carlos Vacas‑Soriano

Carlos Vacas Soriano is a research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He works on topics related to wage and income inequalities, minimum wages, low pay, job quality...

Research manager,
Employment research unit
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Dragoș Adăscăliței

Dragoș Adăscăliței is a research officer in the Employment unit at Eurofound. His current research focuses on topics related to the future of work, including the impact of...

Research officer,
Employment research unit
Publications results (55)

European workers want more job certainty: Working time - Q4 2014 (EurWORK topical update)

An increasing number of European workers have part-time jobs or non-standard types of work, such as the zero-hours employment contracts that have become common in the UK. Yet most European workers with temporary contracts would like permanent jobs, and one third of people working part time would

14 April 2015
Publication
Research report
Working time
Employment status
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work

New forms of employment

Across Europe, new forms of employment are emerging that are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. Some transform the relationship between employer and employee, some change work organisation and work patterns, and some do both. This report identifies

12 March 2015
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
New forms of employment
Platform work
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Undeclared work
Work organisation
Employment relationship
Employment and labour markets
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Digitalisation
Inclusive labour markets
Innovation

Individual employment relations - Q1 2014 (EurWORK topical update)

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on aspects of individual employment relations in the EU during the first quarter of 2014. The terms and conditions of employment, entitlements and obligations and aspects related to the termination of the employment

18 February 2015
Publication
Research report
Labour law
Leave
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Self-employed or not self-employed? Working conditions of ‘economically dependent workers’ - Background paper

In recent years, practices such as outsourcing and contracting-out have increasingly blurred the boundaries between dependent employment and self-employment. A new group of workers has emerged, which comprises workers who are formally ‘self-employed’, but present some characteristics of employees

29 September 2013
Publication
Customised report
Pay and income
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Work-life balance
Job quality
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work

Part-time work in Europe

Non-standard employment and, more particularly, part-time work has been increasing worldwide for the past two decades. This trend has been especially strong in Europe, where the issue of different working time arrangements is an important part of the discussion among policymakers and social partners

27 October 2011
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work

Temporary agency work and collective bargaining in the EU

This report reviews the present situation regarding the use of temporary agency work (TAW) in European Union Member States. It examines arrangements for social dialogue and collective bargaining at national level across the EU. It examines the role of collective bargaining in determining such

09 January 2011
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Collective bargaining
Social dialogue
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

EMCC case studies: Upskilling in the recession – the ProAct short-time working scheme in Wales (UK)

ProAct is a £48 million programme launched by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) in response to the economic crisis. Through social partner engagement, the Welsh Assembly Government developed and implemented the ProAct initiative in a matter of two to three months with the aim of helping businesses

11 November 2010
Publication
Case study
Non-standard employment
Working time
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Very atypical work: Exploratory analysis of fourth European Working Conditions Survey - Background paper

This background paper has been prepared to complement the findings of a comparative analysis by Eurofound on what has been termed ‘very atypical work’ in the 27 EU Member States. In the background paper, the definition of very atypical forms of work includes non-written employment contracts

13 April 2010
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Part-time work in European companies

This report reveals how widespread part-time employment has become as a working arrangement in many parts of Europe. It looks at the national policies influencing part-time employment and the possible impact of this type of work organisation on labour market flexibility. It also examines the

17 June 2008
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Working time
Work organisation
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work

Industrial relations in the EU, Japan, US and other global economies, 2005–2006

In the context of global competition, it is increasingly relevant to look at Europe’s economic development in a wider perspective. This report gives an overview of the main industrial relations developments in the European Union, Japan and the US in 2005 and 2006. It charts the similarities and

11 December 2007
Publication
Research report
Non-standard employment
Collective bargaining
Industrial action
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Online resources results (249)

Flexible contracts tackled by new legislation

A study commissioned by the Dutch Minister of Social Affairs, Lodewijk Asscher, examined the socioeconomic situation of employees who find themselves working long term on flexible contracts. The research, by the agency SEO Economic Research [1], showed that flexible contracts had increased from 17%

12 August 2013
Article
Non-standard employment
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions

Proportion of low wage earners increases

In September 2012, Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (destatis [1]) published a press release [2] on the findings of its 2010 survey on the structure of earnings in Germany. The representative survey takes place every four years. The 2010 survey was based on the earnings of 1.9 million employees

28 October 2012
Article
Non-standard employment
Collective bargaining
Pay and income
Working conditions
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Trend-setting collective agreement reached

Over the course of spring 2012, all biennial collective agreements covering working life in Norway were renegotiated. The wage settlement round began in March 2012 with the so-called ‘trend-setting trades’, which are the industries most vulnerable to international competition.

5 July 2012
Article
Agreements
Non-standard employment
Inequality
Pay and income
Working conditions
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Temporary agency work directive to be implemented

In March 2012, the government presented a proposal for implementing EU Directive (2008/104/EC) [1] on temporary agency work into Norwegian law (Prop. 74 L (2011–2012) – in Norwegian) [2]. The proposal was expected to be adopted before the summer holidays. [1] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ

5 July 2012
Article
Non-standard employment
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Unions attack new subsidies for self-employment

In March 2011, the Employment Service of Slovenia (ZRSZ [1]), which is responsible for the unemployed and employment policy, temporarily stopped grants to the newly self-employed. It said that funds earmarked for this had dried up because there were too many applicants. However, at the end of August

29 March 2012
Article
Social partners
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Unions fear eastern European workers may be exploited

In 2011, almost 13,360 foreigners registered with the body implementing employee insurance schemes (UWV), up from 9,756 in 2010. More than 60% of these workers originate from Bulgaria or Romania. Without a valid work permit, people from these countries may only work as self-employed individuals or

20 March 2012
Article
Non-standard employment
Migration and mobility
Pay and income
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions

Positive outcome for measures to combat social dumping

The EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007 coincided with a sharp growth in demand for workers in the Norwegian labour market. These workers mostly came from Eastern Europe, but this influx led to social dumping [1]; - the problem of poor pay and conditions, breaches of health and safety rules, and unfair

11 March 2012
Article
Non-standard employment
Migration and mobility
Pay and income
Labour and social regulation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Protests mount over Polish ‘junk’ job contracts

At the end of 2010, Poland had the highest proportion of workers in the European Union employed on fixed-term contracts. Statistics from Eurostat [1] show 27.7% of the country’s total number of employees have these contracts, while the EU27 average is 14%.Civil law contracts, which are not governed

8 January 2012
Article
Labour and social regulation
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Inquiry set up into plight of health sector’s precarious workers

There have been several attempts to highlight the conditions of precarious workers in Malta. Toni Zarb, Secretary General of the General Workers’ Union (GWU [1]), has raised the issue several times, as has the Green Party Alternattiva Demokratika (AD [2]), which said on 1 May 2011 that no serious

1 September 2011
Article
Non-standard employment
Pay and income
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions

Government plans to regularise undeclared work

The problem of undeclared work in Spain – where employers and workers pay no social security contributions – has been the subject of media discussion and political debate for the last few years. Several initiatives have been launched to combat undeclared work but they have led to little improvement.

4 August 2011
Article
Labour and social regulation
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work
Blogs results (7)
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New forms of employment in Europe – How new is new?

Standard employment is not simply being replaced by non-standard work; employment is becoming more diverse, and policy must accordingly become more tailored. The last decade has seen much public and policy debate on the future of work. Standard employment – permanent, full-time and subject to labour

15 December 2020
Irene Mandl
Blog
Platform work
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
New forms of employment
Employment relationship
Teleworking
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work
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Economic downturns expose the vulnerability of a growing number of precarious workers

Up to the start of 2020, recent EU economic and labour market trends were often discussed in terms of the periods before and after the Great Recession. It now appears likely that, in the short- to medium-term, the repercussions of that economic crisis will be dwarfed by the unfolding impact of the

21 April 2020
Tina Weber
Blog
COVID-19
Non-standard employment
Employment status
Labour and social regulation
Employment and labour markets
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ICT-enabled flexible working – All plain sailing?

Imagine you’re at work and something happens: you have to leave to visit a client, you have to go home to let in the plumber, or you have to collect the kids from school as the football training has just been cancelled. If you’re lucky, your employer gives you the flexibility to do this. If you’re

14 May 2019
Oscar Vargas Llave
Blog
Non-standard employment
Working conditions
New forms of employment
Inclusive labour markets
Digitalisation
Employment and labour markets
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Working conditions and sustainable work
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Stamping out fraud in hiring practices across Europe

Research Manager Isabella Biletta looks at fraudulent practices in the contracting of work. Such practices involve the abuse of legitimate employment relationships with the aim of sidestepping labour and social regulations and with the effect of undermining workers’ rights and fair competition in

1 June 2018
Isabella Biletta
Blog
Non-standard employment
Posted workers
Working conditions and sustainable work
Employment relationship
Fraudulent work
The many faces of self-employment In Europe

The many faces of self-employment in Europe

While the Europe 2020 strategy actively promotes entrepreneurial self-employment as a means to create good jobs, policy makers at national and EU level are actively looking at better social protection for self-employed workers. Understanding this paradox requires looking beyond the ‘self-employed’

26 October 2017
Mathijn Wilkens
Blog
Inequality
Job creation
Non-standard employment
Working conditions and sustainable work
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Employment shifts in Europe during the recovery: three little noticed trends

The EU has finally recovered all the net employment losses sustained since the global financial crisis. It has been a long and painful process. But there is at last growing evidence of positive momentum in EU labour markets, if not quite ‘animal spirits’. Many of those member states most affected by

26 July 2017
John Hurley
Blog
Employment structure
Gender equality
Job creation
Employment and labour markets
Non-standard employment
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The rise of temporary contracts in Europe

More than one in 10 employees in the EU are employed on temporary contracts, but a majority of them would prefer a permanent contract. Temporary contracts help employers to manage their labour demand, but there are downsides for employees, such as job insecurity and lower pay.

19 February 2016
Eurofound
Blog
Employment and labour markets
Non-standard employment
Pay and income
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working poor

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