While labour flows within the EU are substantial and growing, relatively little is known about what drives them or what conditions mobile workers face. This working paper describes the flows of working-age movers between EU Member States, addressing the question of who decides to move and whether... Find out more

Policy recommendations Rising labour shortages reflect structural shifts, including the digital and green transitions, as well as a cyclical component in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The policy debate tends to focus on the need for skills and, where they are deemed to be missing, on bringing... Find out more

Policy recommendations Unpaid labour should be recognised as a systemic feature of platform work, inherent in its current model of work organisation. Its prevalence and magnitude render it a pressing regulatory issue. Introducing minimum standards regarding working time and wages is a key step... Find out more

Policy implications Tackling precarious work is essential for a fair Covid‑19 recovery and healthier future of work. The Covid‑19 crisis is worsening existing inequalities in the world of work. The European Commission should embed the principle of equity into the country ‑specific recommendations of... Find out more

This publication focuses on practices in the labour market integration of asylum seekers and refugees in the main EU reception states in the post-2015 period. It takes a comparative approach highlighting areas of good practice across the countries while also examining integration barriers. A lack of... Find out more

One of the hallmarks of the European Union (EU) Member States’ social protection systems, unlike that of other regions in the world, is the right to income protection in case of sickness. To differing extents, all EU countries provide three types of arrangements in case of sickness: a) sick leave; b... Find out more

This volume is the 20th anniversary edition of Social policy in the EU: state of play. Coordinated by Cécile Barbier and Philippe Pochet, the first edition covered the year 1999 and was published as a collaborative project between the European Social Observatory (OSE) and the European Trade Union... Find out more

The European Commission published a consultation document with a view to take legislative action to establish fair minimum wages in Europe. In this policy brief, the researchers argue for a pragmatic approach of taking the ‘in-work-poverty-wage’ threshold of 60 per cent of the national full-time... Find out more

For many years, in most European countries, the public sector has been under pressure to reduce expenditure and increase efficiency. Long-term pressures on the public sector, and especially the recent austerity drives following from the crisis, have led to reforms and cuts in public budgets with... Find out more

The newly developed Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest provides an overview of the developments in platform worker organisation and mobilisation on a global scale. Its findings so far reveal that: The main cause globally for labour protest is pay, with considerable geographical variation when it... Find out more