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Topics: Gender equality

  • The rise of temporary contracts in Europe

    More than 1 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.
    Temporary employment has been rising across many European countries for at least three decades. This is largely the resul

  • New Article: Statutory minimum wages in the EU 2016

    Eurofound has published a new article on the statutory minimum wage levels in Europe. This article provides an overview of the minimum wage rates as of 1 January 2016, explains how they were set, and presents relevant discussions on minimum wages at national level.

  • The Case For Universal Support For European Families

    In this blog piece Daphne Ahrendt, Research Manager at Eurofound, analyses the new Families in the Economic Crisis report. She explains how the shift towards means tested support in Europe could be cutting off vital resources for struggling families.

  • Addressing the employment and social consequences of mobility and migration

    Eurofound has been doing extensive work on the issues of mobility and migration. This blog gives a brief overview of the different aspects of EU mobile workers, posted workers and third-country migration, as well as a preview of our upcoming research.
    Free movement in the EU
    All citizens of EU Member States are entitled to live, work and study in another Member State. The right to free movem

  • Working time clashes with work–life balance for many workers

    ​Despite increasing sophistication of work organisation and the development of ICT tools with the aim of making the workplace more efficient, long working time continues to be a fact of life for many workers, according to the last findings on working conditions in Europe from Eurofound. To download the report go to http://bit.ly/Resume6EWCS.

  • Developments in working life annual review shows a Europe in flux

    The Developments in Working Life in Europe 2014 annual review, which is part of a series of annual reviews published by Eurofound, shows that Europe is undergoing significant changes in terms of its economy, industrial relations and working conditions. Although progress is being made in all three areas, the enduring economic crisis has made this progress both fragile and unequal.

  • Stronger focus on social inclusion key to future of Europe’s young people

    Eurofound’s new report 'Social inclusion of young people' gives an in-depth analysis of early Youth Guarantee implementation and reviews policies for social inclusion and participation in several Member States, and provides recommendations as to how to improve the levels of social inclusion of young people across the European Union.

  • Celebrating 40 years of contributing to Social Europe

    This year marks 40 years for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the Dublin-based EU Agency charged with providing knowledge in the area of social and work-related policies.

  • An EU perspective on wage inequality

    Wage inequality has been increasing overall in Europe since the onset of the Great Recession, and is mainly due to rising wage inequalities within countries, according to a new report from Eurofound, the Dublin-based EU Agency.

  • Take-up rate of parental and paternity leave remains low across Europe

    The take-up rate of parental and paternity leave among fathers has been increasing in most Member States but it still remains relatively low. Covering all the EU Member States and Norway, this report looks at the most recent trends in terms of take-up of parental and paternity leave, existing provisions and factors influencing take-up rates.

  • ​Eurofound’s 2015 Annual Work Programme

    Eurofound’s 2015 work programme outlines a dual challenge for the European Union and the Member States: finding a way out of the crisis while pursuing the mid-term ambition of achieving progress towards a competitive and fair Europe. Although the financial situation in Europe seems to have stabilised, the recovery is still very modest and needs to be consolidated.

  • Levels of work-related stress, and violence and harassment, are still high in European workplaces

    A new report out today gives a broad overview on psychosocial risks at European workplaces and provides examples on the way forward at political as well as company level. The report is presented today to national labour inspectors and practitioners from several southern European countries in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and to EU-level policymakers in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday 16 October 2014.

  • Europe is struggling to deliver improved living and working conditions for all

    Eurofound’s fifth annual yearbook, Living and working in Europe, based on the Agency’s research from 2013, describes developments in the EU in the wake of the crisis, focusing on major topic areas including changes in labour markets and employment, efforts to tackle youth unemployment, innovation in workplaces and public trust in institutions.

  • Working time and annual holidays divide Europe

    The average collectively agreed weekly working time in the European Union stood at 38.1 hours in 2013, according to Eurofound’s latest working time update. The combined total of agreed annual leave and public holidays in the EU varied from 40 days in Germany and France to 29 days in Belgium - a difference of more than two working weeks. The Working Time Developments in Europe 2013 report is out.

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