Today, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council have reached a provisional agreement on the European Commission’s proposal for a new Directive to create more transparent and predictable working conditions, in particular for workers in non-standard forms of employment. Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility welcomed the agreement with the following statement:
“Today we have reached an agreement that will provide 200 million workers in Europe with more transparent and predictable working conditions. We are modernising European labour law and adjusting it to the new world of work. This is a major milestone to make the European Pillar of Social Rights a reality for our citizens. Today’s economy needs flexible labour contracts, but flexibility must be combined with minimum protection. With the agreement that is on the table today, we will offer those who are in flexible employment relations more transparency and predictability, especially the most vulnerable ones. Up to three million workers active in new forms of work, like workers on zero-hour contracts and domestic workers, will be covered which was not the case until now. Workers will benefit from more transparency by receiving key information on their working conditions from the start, and they will benefit from new rights leading to more predictable working conditions.
I would like to thank rapporteur Enrique Calvet Chambon and the shadow rapporteurs who negotiated on behalf of the European Parliament, and the Romanian Presidency on behalf of the Council. This agreement should now be confirmed quickly so that it can have a concrete, tangible, and positive effect on workers across the EU. This is what social Europe is all about.”
Next steps
This provisional agreement now has to be formally adopted by both the European Parliament and the Council.
Background
The Commission’s proposal for a Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions is an update of the so-called “Written Statement Directive”. This Directive dates from 1991, but since then, the world of work has evolved significantly. Demographic change has resulted in a greater diversity of the working population, digitalisation has facilitated the creation of new forms of employment and new and more flexible employment relationships have emerged. In recent years, 1 in 4 employment contracts concerned atypical forms of employment, meaning all jobs which are not full time and open-ended, ranging from ‘classical’ part-time work to on-demand work without guaranteed working hours.
In an effort to reinforce Europe’s social dimension, and as part of the roll-out of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Commission proposed the initiative on transparent and predictable working conditions in December 2017. Its aim is to broaden and modernise existing obligations to inform each worker of his or her working conditions. It also intends to create new minimum standards to ensure that all workers, including those on atypical contracts, benefit from more transparency and predictability as regards their working conditions.
For more information
Factsheet: Towards transparent and predictable working conditions
Press release: Commission proposes to improve transparency and predictability of working conditions
Factsheet: Social Priorities under the Juncker Commission
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