A directive intended to bolster the current legal rights of employees in Europe is in the pipeline. This legislative measure, recently proposed by the European Commission, promises to set out more transparent and predictable working conditions for European workers.
A 1991 directive, which forms part of the EU’s labour law acquis, obliges employers to provide employees with a document containing the essential elements of the employment contract. Such information must include the identity of the parties and the place of work, the nature of the job, the date the contract begins and its duration, the amount of payment, normal working hours as well as the collective agreements governing the employee’s conditions of work.
The employer is currently obliged to provide this document to the employee within two months from the commencement of employment.
Taking into consideration the ever-changing realities of Europe’s labour market and, in particular, the varying forms of employment which have come to exist, the European Commission has realised that this directive is in need of a radical overhaul. To this end, the recently- proposed law seeks to put into place a number of legislative changes in order to secure the utmost protection of vulnerable workers. The new proposal reinforces the rights provided for in the current rules and adds new common rights for all workers in so far as working conditions are concerned.
The proposed directive is still far from seeing the light of day
All workers within the EU, with the exception of the self-employed, will benefit from new rights. Casual workers, such as those carrying out on-demand or intermittent work, short-term employees, domestic workers, platform workers or voucher-based workers will also be protected. Member states can decide to exclude very short-term assignments of less than eight hours per month from the scope of the new directive.
The proposed directive increases the amount of information which must be provided by employers to workers. In addition to the current elements, information on probation (if any), training provided by the employer, arrangements and remuneration for overtime, information on working time for workers on very variable schedules as well as the social security institution where contributions will be paid, must be provided. All this information may be provided electronically. The deadline to provide this information has now been established as the first day of work rather than two months from commencement of employment as is currently the rule.
The proposed law also lays down a number of material rights for workers. Among others, it limits the length of probationary periods to six months, unless a longer time period is objectively justified. It also makes provision for the right of employees to work for more than one employer, by introducing a ban on exclusivity clauses and restrictions on incompatibility clauses. The right to cost-free mandatory training has also been introduced.
The proposed directive is still far from seeing the light of day. The blessing of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union are still required for it to come into force. Being a directive, it must then be transposed into national law by the different member states.
Transparency and predictability for employees have been hailed as the hallmarks of this new law. Indeed, it is not only workers who stand to gain from the introduction of improved rules within the labour market. Such harmonisation will serve to secure a level playing field for companies across the EU and ensure that all employers play the same game with their employees.
Mariosa Vella Cardona is a freelance legal consultant specialising in European law, competition law, consumer law and intellectual property.
law.mariosa@vellacardona.com