The third round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded in February and March 2021, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe following nearly a full year of living with COVID-19 restrictions. This report analyses the main findings and tracks ongoing developments and trends across the 27 EU Member States since the survey was first launched in April 2020. It pinpoints issues that have surfaced over the course of the pandemic, such as increased job insecurity due to the threat of job loss, upsurge in mental well-being levels, erosion of recent gains in gender equality, fall in trust levels vis-à-vis institutions, deterioration of work–life balance and growth of vaccine hesitancy. The results of the survey highlight the need for a holistic approach to support all the groups hit hard by the crisis in order to prevent them from falling further behind.

On foot of a request from the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has prepared a Code of Practice to give guidance on best practice to organisations and their employees on the Right to Disconnect.

Despite the economic turmoil that led to large-scale restructuring in many EU Member States and changes in working conditions for many occupational groups, 2020 seems to have been a quiet year in terms of industrial action. At the time of writing this article, national statistics for 2020 are available in only a few countries; however, several correspondents have reported a clear decline in industrial action. The most significant labour disputes related to COVID-19 occurred in the human health and social services sector, the education sector, and the transportation and logistics sector. Social distancing measures, the fear of job losses in a tense economic environment, deferred collective bargaining talks, the lack of organisation in the most impacted sectors, and strike restrictions on essential services are some of the factors that may explain the low level of industrial action.

This article is one of a series that explores working life issues in the 27 EU Member States, Norway and the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is based on information provided by the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and published as a set of individual country reports in ‘Working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020’.

This report sets out to assess the initial impact of the COVID-19 crisis on employment in Europe (up to Q2 2020), including its effects across sectors and on different categories of workers. It also looks at measures implemented by policymakers in a bid to limit the negative effects of the crisis. It first provides an overview of policy approaches adopted to mitigate the impact of the crisis on businesses, workers and citizens. The main focus is on the development, content and impact of short-time working schemes, income support measures for self-employed people, hardship funds and rent and mortgage deferrals. Finally, it explores the involvement of social partners in the development and implementation of such measures and the role of European funding in supporting these schemes.

The primary objective of this study was to support the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) by providing an evidence base for their forthcoming Opinion on the European Commission’s initiative on minimum wages. Specifically, the study examined the local and regional dimension of minimum wages, an area only briefly covered in the current literature. The Commission’s initiative includes a proposed Directive which has as its focus the promotion of collective bargaining and the adequacy of statutory minimum wages. The research for the report was undertaken by Metis GmbH, conducted between December 2020 and February 2021 and comprising a literature review, data analysis, stakeholder interviews and case studies.

The pandemic made us all familiar with ‘social distancing’. Employers are starting to glimpse a future where ‘contractual distancing’ is progressively normalised.

by Nicola Countouris and Valerio De Stefano on 14th April 2021

The growth of digital labour platforms is presenting opportunities and challenges for workers and businesses and a need for international policy dialogue.

Teleworking refers to a form of organising and/or performing work, using information technology, in the context of an employment contract/relationship, where work, which could also be performed at the employer’s premises, is carried out away from those premises, on a regular basis, as defined in the European framework agreement on telework. The characteristic feature of telework is the use of computers and telecommunications to change the usual location of work

Backed by a robust economic growth, employment in the EU continued to rise more strongly than expected in the third quarter of 2017, while unemployment figures declined further according to the latest Quarterly Review on Employment and Social Developments in Europe.

Some 1.9 million workers around the globe will benefit from a revised code of practice which takes account of dramatic changes in the industry by incorporating a systematic and preventative approach to safety and health management.