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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... Show more
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. These 'economically dependent workers' usually have a commercial contract (or 'service contract') rather than an employment contract; they are therefore registered as self-employed when in reality their working conditions have a lot in common with those of employees. The purpose of this short exploratory paper is to investigate the position of these economically dependent workers and to find out whether overall their working conditions are more similar to those of the self-employed or to those of employees. This exercise builds on data from the 2010 wave of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).
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Authors: Oostveen, Adriaan; Biletta, Isabella; Parent-Thirion, Agnes; Vermeylen, Greet

Date: 2013

Geographic subjects: Europe

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Employment; Research
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Exploring self-employment in the European Union

In the rapidly changing world of work, the traditional dichotomy of employee and self-employed is insufficient to c... Show more
In the rapidly changing world of work, the traditional dichotomy of employee and self-employed is insufficient to capture the wide diversity of self-employed workers in Europe today. This report identifies five categories of self-employed, reflecting the wide-ranging attitudes, income levels, and health and well-being among this diverse group. Based on data from the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), the analysis reveals that the majority of self-employed workers enjoy high levels of job quality. However, there are concerns in relation to so-called 'economically dependent workers': while they are classed as self-employed, they lack both the autonomy that self-employment usually offers and the social protection granted by regular employment. Some policy approaches of Member States to this 'in-between' employment status are described in detail, which are of relevance for the discussions around the European Pillar of Social Rights.
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Authors: Vermeylen, Greet; Wilkens, Mathijn; Biletta, Isabella; Fromm, Andrea ... [+] Show more

Date: 2017

Geographic subjects: Europe

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: European Working Conditions Survey 2015

Subjects: Employment
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Working anytime, anywhere: the effects on the world of work

New information and communications technologies have revolutionised work and life in the 21st century. The constant... Show more
New information and communications technologies have revolutionised work and life in the 21st century. The constant connectivity enabled by these devices allows work to be performed at any time and from almost anywhere. This joint report by the ILO and Eurofound synthesises the findings of national studies from 15 countries, plus the European Working Conditions Survey, to consider the effects of telework and ICT-mobile work (T/ICTM) on the world of work. The report shows that this work arrangement is growing in most countries. Positive effects of T/ICTM usually include a shortening of commuting time, greater working time autonomy, better overall work-life balance, and higher productivity. At the same time, disadvantages include its tendency to lengthen working hours, to create interference between work and personal life, and to result in work intensification, which can lead to high levels of stress with negative consequences for workers' health and well-being. The ambiguous and even contradictory effects of T/ICTM on working conditions represent a current, real-world example about the challenges of the future of work. A range of policy suggestions to improve T/ICTM are made on the basis of the findings.
Abstract from Eurofound website. Show less

Authors: Messenger, Jon C.; Llave, Oscar Vargas; Gschwind, Lutz; Boehmer, Simon ... [+] Show more

Date: 2017

Geographic subjects: Europe;

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: European Working Conditions Survey 2015

Subjects: Technology; Employment; Outcomes ... [+] Show more
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Sixth European Working Conditions survey: overview report

Since 1991, Eurofound has been monitoring working conditions in Europe through its European Working Conditions Surv... Show more
Since 1991, Eurofound has been monitoring working conditions in Europe through its European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). The survey aims to measure working conditions across European countries, analyse the relationships between different aspects of these, identify groups at risk, highlight issues of concern and areas of progress and, ultimately, contribute to developing EU policy aimed at improving job quality. In 2015, the sixth EWCS interviewed almost 44,000 workers (both employees and self-employed people) in 35 European countries: the 28 EU Member States, the five EU candidate countries, and Norway and Switzerland. Workers were asked a range of questions concerning employment status, work organisation, learning and training, working time duration and organisation, physical and psychosocial risk factors, health and safety, work-life balance, worker participation, earnings and financial security, as well as work and health.
Overall, structural inequalities and differences in terms of gender, employment status and occupation are still significant. The research constructed seven job quality indices, representing different dimensions of job quality: physical environment, work intensity, working time quality, social environment, skills and discretion, and prospects and earnings. These dimensions were selected on the basis of their proven impact (positive or negative) on the health and well-being of workers. In the last 10 years, there has been limited progress in some job quality indices.
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Authors: Parent-Thirion, Agnes; Biletta, Isabella; Cabrita, Jorge; Vargas, Oscar ... [+] Show more

Date: 2016

Geographic subjects: Albania; Austria; Belgium ... [+] Show more

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Employment
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Working time patterns for sustainable work

Working time is a recurrent topic of study because the nature of work, its content, the conditions under which it i... Show more
Working time is a recurrent topic of study because the nature of work, its content, the conditions under which it is performed and the labour market itself keep changing. This report provides an overview of the recent evolution of working time duration and organisation in the EU and highlights the most important trends and differences between Member States. Through an in-depth analysis of data from the sixth European Working Conditions Survey carried out in 2015, it examines - from a gender and life course perspective - the links between working time patterns, work-life balance and working time preferences, on the one hand, and workers' health and well-being on the other. Finally, the report explores the extent to which prevailing working conditions and working time patterns in EU Member States are sustainable in the long term.
Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

Authors: Anxo, Dominique; Boulin, Jean-Yves; Cabrita, Jorge; Vermeylen, Greet ... [+] Show more

Date: 2017

Geographic subjects: Europe

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: European Working Conditions Survey 2015

Subjects: Employment; Outcomes

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Self-employed or not self-employed?: working conditions of 'economically dependent workers': background paper

Exploring self-employment in the European Union

Working anytime, anywhere: the effects on the world of work

Sixth European Working Conditions survey: overview report

Working time patterns for sustainable work