European labour law regulates basic transnational standards of employment and partnership at work in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

and countries adhering to the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

. In setting regulatory floors to competition for job-creating investment within the Union, and in promoting a degree of employee consultation in the workplace, European labour law is viewed as a pillar of the "European social model". Despite wide variation in employment protection and related welfare provision between member states, a contrast is typically drawn with conditions in the United States. The European Union, under the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establishi ...

, article 153(1) is able to use the ordinary legislation procedure on a list of labour law fields. This notably excludes wage regulation and

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

. Four main fields of

EU regulation A regulation is a legal act of the European Union that becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into nation ...

of labour rights include (1) individual labour rights, (2) anti-discrimination regulations, (3) rights to information, consultation, and participation at work, and (4) rights to

job security Job security is the probability that an individual will keep their job; a job with a high level of security is such that a person with the job would have a small chance of losing it. Many factors threaten job security: globalization, outsourcing ...

. In virtually all cases, the EU follows the principle that member states can always create rights more beneficial to workers. The fundamental principle of

labour law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

is that employees'

unequal bargaining power Inequality of bargaining power in law, economics and social sciences refers to a situation where one party to a bargain, contract or agreement, has more and better alternatives than the other party. This results in one party having greater powe ...

justifies substitution of rules in property and contract with positive

social rights Economic, social and cultural rights, (ESCR) are socio-economic human rights, such as the right to education, right to housing, right to an adequate standard of living, right to health, victims' rights and the right to science and culture. Ec ...

so that people may earn a living to fully participate in a democratic society. The EU's competences generally follow principles codified in the

Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers 1989 The Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers (9 December 1989) is a principles-based charter of human rights that apply specifically to the workforce in the European Union. It is used as an interpretative aid by the Court of Jus ...

, introduced in the "social chapter" of the

Treaty of Maastricht The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the p ...

History

While

free movement of workers The freedom of movement for workers is a policy chapter of the acquis communautaire of the European Union. The free movement of workers means that nationals of any member state of the European Union can take up an employment in another member stat ...

was central to the first

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

agreement, the development of European labour law has been a gradual process. Originally, the

Ohlin Report The Ohlin Report was a report drafted by a group of experts of the International Labour Organization led by Bertil Ohlin in 1956. Together with the Spaak Report it provided the basis for the Treaty of Rome on the common market in 1957 and the cr ...

of 1956 recommended that labour standards did not need to be harmonised, although a general principle of anti-discrimination between men and women was included in the early Treaties. Increasingly, the absence of labour rights was seen as inadequate given the capacity for a "

race to the bottom Race to the bottom is a socio-economic phrase to describe either government deregulation of the business environment or reduction in corporate tax rates, in order to attract or retain usually foreign economic activity in their jurisdictions. While ...

" in

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant s ...

if corporations can shift jobs and production to countries with low wages. The

(deriving from the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

) lists in article 2(1) the European Union's competence in the field of

. What is conspicuously not included is unjust dismissal of workers, and according to article 153(5) "pay, the right of association, the right to strike or the right to impose lock-outs". As it says, "the Union shall support and complement the activities of the Member States in the following fields:" The objectives draw, according to TFEU article 151, inspiration from a number of other treaties and sources, which in turn draw inspiration from the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

and the

Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

Labour and human rights

A first group of Directives create a range of individual rights in EU employment relationships. The objective of transnational regulation is to progressively raise the minimum floor in line with economic development. *

articles 4, 6, 9, 10 and 11 *

European Social Charter The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe treaty which was opened for signature on October 18, 1961 and initially became effective on February 26, 1965, after West Germany had become the fifth of the 13 signing nations to ratify it. B ...

1961 * Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers 1989

Employment contracts

The Employment Information Directive 2019 requires that every employee (however defined by member state law) has the right to a written statement of their employment contract. The consistent jurisprudence of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Uni ...

is that an employee is generally to be defined according to the fact that he or she is invariably the weaker party in an employment contract, and works under the direction of another. *'' Lawrie-Blum v Land Baden-Württemberg'' (1986) C-66/85, 7'the essential feature of an employment relationship ... is that for a certain period of time a person performs services for and under the direction of another person in return for which he receives remuneration.' *'' Pfeiffer v Deutsches Rotes Kreuz'' (2005) C-397/01, "the worker must be regarded as the weaker party to the employment contract and it is therefore necessary to prevent the employer being in a position to disregard the intentions of the other party to the contract or to impose on that party a restriction of his rights without him having expressly given his consent in that regard." *''Danosa v LKB Līzings SIA'' (2010
C-232/09
*''Holterman Ferho Exploitatie BV v Spies Von Büllesheim'' (2015
C-47/14
The European Court of Justice expressly rules that there are generally no exemptions from the term "employee" fo
executives under European Law
which would allow member states to restrict employee protection on non-executive-employees. * Platform Work Directive has been proposed to recognise platforms as employers, and regulate algorithmic management.

Free movement

Articles 45–48 state that workers have the right to move freely and work anywhere in the EU, without discrimination on grounds of nationality, subject to exceptions to preserve public policy, security and health. *

Citizens Rights Directive The Citizens’ Rights Directive 2004/38/EC (also sometimes called the "Free Movement Directive") defines the right of free movement for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the member states of the European Union (EU) ...

2004/38/EC There is also an old Directive concerning posted workers which has recently become highly contentious given decisions by the ECJ in '' The Rosella'' and ''Laval''. * Posted Workers Directive 96/71/EC

Working time and child care

Reflecting basic standards in the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

and

ILO Conventions The list of International Labour Organization Conventions contains 190 codifications of world wide labour standards. International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions are developed through tripartite negotiations between member state represen ...

, the Working Time Directive 2003 requires a minimum of 4 weeks (totalling 28 days) paid holidays each year, a minimum of 20-minute paid rest breaks for 6-hour work shifts, limits on night work or time spent on dangerous work, and a maximum 48-hour working week unless a worker individually consents. The Parental Leave Directive 2010 creates a bare minimum of 4 months of unpaid leave for parents (mothers, fathers, or legal guardians) to care for children before they turn 8 years old, and the Pregnant Workers Directive 1992 creates a right for mothers to a minimum of 14 weeks' paid leave to care for children. *

Working Time Directive Working Time Directive''2003/88/ECis a European Union law Directive and a key part of European labour law. It gives EU workers the right to: *at least 28 days (four weeks) in paid holidays each year, *rest breaks of 20 minutes in a 6 hour peri ...

br>2003/88/EC
* Pregnant Workers Directive 92/85/EEC * Parental Leave Directive 96/34/EC and 97/75/EC

Health and safety

The Safety and Health at Work Directive 1989 requires basic requirements to prevent and insure against workplace risks, with employee consultation and participation, and this is complemented by specialised Directives, ranging from work equipment to dangerous industries. In almost all cases, all member states go significantly beyond this minimum. * Health and Safety of Atypical Workers Directive 1991 91/383/EEC * Minimum Workplace Safety Directive 1989 89/654/EC

Pensions

While there is no wage regulation, the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision Directive 2003 requires that pension benefits are protected through a national insurance fund, that information is provided to beneficiaries, and minimum standards of governance are observed. These include protecting the "pension promise" of employers in the event of business trouble, and require minimum standards of funding. Most member states go far beyond these requirements, particularly by requiring a vote for employees in who manages their money. * Insolvency Protection Directive 2008/94/EC article 8 *'' Robins v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions'' (2007) C-278/05, the member state pension guarantee institution must reimburse at much more than 20% of pension Since the

global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

beginning in 2007, the EU acted to create a network of transnational financial regulators in an attempt to prevent the undercutting of standards by countries competing on low regulation. One of these is the

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) is a European Union financial regulatory institution that replaced the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS). It is established under EU Re ...

, which replaced a committee known as the "Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors". * European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority Regulationbr>1094/2010
The

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

for cross-border worker (UE and extra-UE) is regulated by the Directive n. 957/2018.

Social security

* Equal Treatment in Occupational Social Security Directive 86/378 * Equal Treatment in Social Security Directive 79/7/EEC * Social Security Regulation 1408/71/EC and 883/2004/EC *Directive 2005/36/EC

Public procurement

* Public Contracts Directive 2014
2014/24/EU
arts 18, 69-71 and Annex X *'' RegioPost GmbH & Co v Stadt Landau in der Pfalz'' (2015
C-115/14

Collective representation

The EU is formally not enabled to legislate on

, although the EU, with all member states, is bound by the jurisprudence of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a c ...

freedom of association Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline memb ...

Participatory governance

If a company transforms from a member state corporation to incorporate under the European Company Regulation 2001, employees are entitled to no less favourable representation than under the member state's existing board participation laws. This is practically important as a majority of EU member states require employee representation on company boards. *

Employee Involvement Directive The Employee Involvement Directive 2001/86/EC is an EU Directive concerning the right of workers to elect members of the board of directors in a European Company. It is a supplement to the European Company Regulation and inspired by the European ...

br>2001/86/EC
* European Company Regulation

Information and consultation

The Information and Consultation Directive 2002 requires that workplaces with over 20 or 50 staff have the right to set up elected

work councils A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...

with a range of binding rights, the European Works Council Directive 2009 enables

transnationally, and the Employee Involvement Directive 2001 requires representation of workers on company boards in some European Companies. In total, the requirement to inform and consult the workforce (negotiate with a view to agreement) is found in four directives. * European Works Council Directive 2009/38/EC art 6(3) * Information and Consultation Directive 2002/14/EC art 4(2) * Business Transfers Directive 2001/23/EC art 7 * Collective Redundancies Directive 98/59/EC art 2

Collective bargaining

Theoretically, only the European Court of Human Rights should have competence to decide issues related to collective bargaining and industrial action, as the European Union treaties do not confer competence on the EU to legislate on such issues. The ECHR's scope extends to collective bargaining given the right to freedom of association under article 11. In '' Wilson and Palmer v United Kingdom'' the Court held that any detriment for membership of a trade union was incompatible with article 11, and in '' Demir and Baykara v Turkey'' the Court held "the right to bargain collectively with the employer has, in principle, become one of the essential elements" of article 11. This approach, which includes affirmation of the fundamental

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the In ...

in all democratic member states, has been seen as lying in tension with some of the Court of Justice's previous case law, notably '' ITWF v Viking Line ABP'' and '' Laval Un Partneri Ltd v Svenska Byggnadsarbetareforbundet''. These decisions suggested the fundamental right of workers to take collective action was subordinate to business freedom to establish and provide services. * Article 11 ECHR *'' Wilson and Palmer v United Kingdom'' *'' Demir and Baykara v Turkey'' 008ECHR 1345 *'' Erzberger v TUI AG'' (2017) (C-566/15), scope of free movement of workers *'' The Rosella'' 008IRLR 143 (C-438/05), on freedom of establishment *'' Laval Un Partneri Ltd v Svenska Byggnadsarbetareforbundet'' 008IRLR 160 (C-319/05, see also (C-319/06), on free movement of services * Collective Bargaining and Wage Directivebr>COM/2020/682 final

Equality

Beyond the general principle of equality in

EU law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

, six main Directives protect basic equality rights in EU law. The rules are not consolidated, and on gender pay potentially limited in not enabling a hypothetical comparator, or comparators in outsourced business. Equality rules do not yet apply to child care rights, which only give women substantial time off, and consequently hinder equality in men and women caring for children after birth, and pursuing their careers.

General principle

The principle of equality regardless of status is a fundamental value in all European member states, and constitutes a core principle that pervades the objectives of every institution.

Equality Equality may refer to: Society * Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing ** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elite ...

was affirmed by the Court of Justice in '' Kücükdeveci v Swedex GmbH & Co KG'' to be a general principle of EU law. *'' Kücükdeveci v Swedex GmbH & Co KG'' (2010
C-555/07
This is reflected in a number of TFEU provisions. *Article 8 (ex Article 3(2) TEC) "In all its activities, the Union shall aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women." *Article 10, "In defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall aim to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation."

Protected grounds

The Race Equality Directive 2000,

Equality Framework Directive 2000 The Equality Framework Directive''2000/78/ECis an EU Directive, and a major part of EU labour law which aims to combat discrimination on grounds of disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age in the workplace. It accompanies the ...

and Equal Treatment Directive 2006 prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief, age, race and gender. As well as "direct discrimination", there is a prohibition on "indirect discrimination" where employers apply a neutral rule to everybody, but this has a disproportionate impact on the protected group. * Equality Framework Directivebr>2000/78/EC
* Race Equality Directivebr>2000/48/EC
* Equal Treatment Directivebr>2006/54/EC

Atypical workers

The Part-time Work Directive 1997, Fixed-term Work Directive 1999 and Temporary Agency Work Directive 2008 generally require that people who do not have ordinary full-time, permanent contracts are treated no less favourably than their colleagues. However, the scope of the protected worker is left to member state law, and the TAWD 2008 only applies to "basic working conditions" (mostly pay, working hours and participation rights) and enabled member states to have a qualifying period. * Part-time Workers Directivebr>97/81/EC
* Fixed-term Work Directivebr>99/70/EC
* Temporary and Agency Work Directivebr>2008/104/EC

Job security

Minimum

rights are provided by three Directives. There are further norms in the Treaties which aspire to create a high level of employment in the EU.

Business restructuring

The Collective Redundancies Directive 1998 specifies that minimum periods of notice and consultation occur if more than a set number of jobs in a workplace are at risk. The Transfers of Undertakings Directive 2001 require that staff retain all contractual rights, unless there is an independent economic, technical or organisational reason, if their workplace is sold from one company to another. Last, the Insolvency Protection Directive 2008 requires that employees' wage claims are protected in the event that their employer falls insolvent. This last Directive gave rise to ''

Francovich v Italy ''Francovich v Italy'' (1991) C-6/90 was a decision of the European Court of Justice which established that European Union Member States could be liable to pay compensation to individuals who suffered a loss by reason of the Member State's fail ...

'', where the Court of Justice affirmed that member states which fail to implement the minimum standards in EU Directives are liable to pay compensation to employees who should have rights under them. *'' Junk v Kühnel'' (2005) C-188/03, 3the Collective Redundancies Directive 1998 ‘imposes an obligation to negotiate’. *'' USDAW v WW Realisation 1 Ltd'' (2015
C-80/14
Fifth Chamber

Unemployment

Today, the EU is required under TFEU article 147 to contribute to a "high level of employment by encouraging cooperation between Member States". This has not resulted in legislation, which usually requires taxation and fiscal stimulus for significant change, while the

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's most important central b ...

monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money supply, often ...

has been acutely controversial during the

Eurozone crisis The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policie ...

. The EU undertakes ad hoc initiatives to combat unemployment, but only indirectly through better regulation. It does not have any specific fiscal stimulus programme, outside funds used for general regional development. * TFEU Article 9, "In defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health." *Articles 145–150, on coordinated strategies to promote employment * European Union Labour Force Survey *

Eurostat Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statistical information to ...

European debt crisis The European debt crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis or the European sovereign debt crisis, is a multi-year debt crisis that took place in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until the mid to late 2010s. Several eurozone membe ...

Post-2008 Irish economic downturn The post-2008 Irish economic downturn in the Republic of Ireland, coincided with a series of banking scandals, followed the 1990s and 2000s Celtic Tiger period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment, a subsequent p ...

Greek government-debt crisis Greece faced a sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Widely known in the country as The Crisis (Greek: Η Κρίση), it reached the populace as a series of sudden reforms and austerity measures that le ...

* 2008–15 Spanish financial crisis *

2010–14 Portuguese financial crisis 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Gig economy legislation

In December 2021, the European Commission published new draft legislation to ensure

gig workers Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers, and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients. In ...

get a minimum wage, access to sick pay, holidays and general employment rights. The announcement sent stock prices of gig economy brands lower, including

Deliveroo Deliveroo is a British online food delivery company founded by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski in 2013 in London, England. It operates in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait ...

Just Eat Takeaway Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V. (formerly Takeaway.com; founded as Thuisbezorgd.nl) is a Dutch multinational online food ordering and delivery company, formed from the merger of London-based Just Eat and Amsterdam-based Takeaway.com in 2020. It is ...

Delivery Hero Delivery Hero is a German multinational online food-delivery service based in Berlin, Germany. The company operates in 50+ countries internationally in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and partners with 500,000+ restaurants. De ...

Notes

References

* Catherine Barnard, ''EC Employment Law'' (3rd edn Oxford, OUP 2006) * E McGaughey, ''A Casebook on Labour Law'' (Hart 2018)

External links

EU homepage on Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion
{{Authority control Labour law by country