Pub Date : 2024-09-12DOI: 10.1177/13882627241283865
Marco Biasi
{"title":"Book Review: The Quantified Worker. Law and Technology in the Modern Workplace by Ifeoma Ajunwa","authors":"Marco Biasi","doi":"10.1177/13882627241283865","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241283865","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142215625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-26DOI: 10.1177/13882627241270473
Catherine Jacqueson
This article discusses whether self-employed and platform workers in Denmark have effective access to the unemployment insurance scheme. The Danish case is intriguing in a comparative context. Unlike other European States, it has been possible in Denmark for the self-employed to formally access the unemployment scheme since 1976. The system is also interesting as it is rather flexible, and was recently adapted to meet the challenges of changing work patterns and an increase in atypical forms of work, such as platform work. Yet, it is argued that important barriers to effective coverage remain. Some barriers, such as the voluntary character of the insurance and its eligibility criteria, are common to all persons with low and irregular work. Other barriers are specific to the self-employed and relate to the conditions for proving the closing down of business, and to waiting periods.
{"title":"An Effective protection against unemployment for self-employed and platform workers? The intriguing case of Denmark","authors":"Catherine Jacqueson","doi":"10.1177/13882627241270473","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241270473","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses whether self-employed and platform workers in Denmark have effective access to the unemployment insurance scheme. The Danish case is intriguing in a comparative context. Unlike other European States, it has been possible in Denmark for the self-employed to formally access the unemployment scheme since 1976. The system is also interesting as it is rather flexible, and was recently adapted to meet the challenges of changing work patterns and an increase in atypical forms of work, such as platform work. Yet, it is argued that important barriers to effective coverage remain. Some barriers, such as the voluntary character of the insurance and its eligibility criteria, are common to all persons with low and irregular work. Other barriers are specific to the self-employed and relate to the conditions for proving the closing down of business, and to waiting periods.","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142215626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-23DOI: 10.1177/13882627241267993
Eleni De Becker, Paul Schoukens, Enzo Weber
This special issue of the European Journal of Social Security explores the complexities of extending unemployment insurance to the self-employed and platform workers in the EU Member States and the steps taken at EU level to enforce the protection offered at national level. Traditionally, social security systems have been designed for standard employment relationships, leaving a typical workers and the self-employed inadequately protected. The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), adopted in 2017, and the subsequent 2019 Recommendation on access to social protection have marked a shift towards more inclusive social security frameworks. However, significant gaps in coverage remain, in particular with regard to unemployment protection for the self-employed and platform workers. The special issue is divided into three parts: national perspectives, comparative studies and EU-level discussions.
{"title":"Exploring unemployment insurance for the self-employed and platform workers: How to navigate difficult waters? A comparative, conceptual and European perspective","authors":"Eleni De Becker, Paul Schoukens, Enzo Weber","doi":"10.1177/13882627241267993","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241267993","url":null,"abstract":"This special issue of the European Journal of Social Security explores the complexities of extending unemployment insurance to the self-employed and platform workers in the EU Member States and the steps taken at EU level to enforce the protection offered at national level. Traditionally, social security systems have been designed for standard employment relationships, leaving a typical workers and the self-employed inadequately protected. The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), adopted in 2017, and the subsequent 2019 Recommendation on access to social protection have marked a shift towards more inclusive social security frameworks. However, significant gaps in coverage remain, in particular with regard to unemployment protection for the self-employed and platform workers. The special issue is divided into three parts: national perspectives, comparative studies and EU-level discussions.","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142215627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-23DOI: 10.1177/13882627241270475
Juliette Gilman
The rights to social security and social assistance are protected by the European Social Charter and its quasi-judicial body, the European Committee of Social Rights. Less is known about the precise content of these rights. Following a decision, published on 15 February 2023, on a collective complaint lodged by the Finnish Society of Social Rights, an NGO, this paper proposes to critically question the positive content given by the Committee to these rights, when it attaches – and even assimilates – certain legal requirements to one specific social indicator, the poverty threshold, defined restrictively.
{"title":"The rights to social security and social assistance in the European Social Charter: Towards a positive content…but what sort of content?","authors":"Juliette Gilman","doi":"10.1177/13882627241270475","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241270475","url":null,"abstract":"The rights to social security and social assistance are protected by the European Social Charter and its quasi-judicial body, the European Committee of Social Rights. Less is known about the precise content of these rights. Following a decision, published on 15 February 2023, on a collective complaint lodged by the Finnish Society of Social Rights, an NGO, this paper proposes to critically question the positive content given by the Committee to these rights, when it attaches – and even assimilates – certain legal requirements to one specific social indicator, the poverty threshold, defined restrictively.","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142215629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-14DOI: 10.1177/13882627241270404
Sümeyra Akarçeşme, Ane Aranguiz, Anna Lemmens, Bea Cantillon
Reaching the three targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Action Plan is the litmus test for effective EPSR implementation. While the EPSR puts forward a prima facie balance between employment, equal opportunities and social protection, two important questions arise: a) whether and to what extent the resources available at EU level are sufficiently balanced across the different dimensions of the EPSR; and b) which implications this may have for achieving the 2030 poverty target. Analysing the three domains of the EPSR, its Action Plan and the wider EU legal framework of the principles contained in the EPSR, the paper argues that abundant EU resources are available for the areas of equality and employment, but fewer for social inclusion. The empirical evidence on poverty trends over the past decades, however, points to important successes in terms of employment and (gender) equality, but not with respect to social inclusion: a significant increase in employment and defeminisation of poverty have been accompanied by greater precarity for low-skilled men and women. Particularly striking is the rise in the risk of poverty among jobless households, linked with the weakening of the poverty reduction capacity of social protection for this group. Meeting the European social inclusion targets will thus require policies that duly focus on strengthening the framework for social inclusion and social protection.
{"title":"Reaching the European 2030 poverty target: The imperative to balance the EU social agenda","authors":"Sümeyra Akarçeşme, Ane Aranguiz, Anna Lemmens, Bea Cantillon","doi":"10.1177/13882627241270404","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241270404","url":null,"abstract":"Reaching the three targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Action Plan is the litmus test for effective EPSR implementation. While the EPSR puts forward a prima facie balance between employment, equal opportunities and social protection, two important questions arise: a) whether and to what extent the resources available at EU level are sufficiently balanced across the different dimensions of the EPSR; and b) which implications this may have for achieving the 2030 poverty target. Analysing the three domains of the EPSR, its Action Plan and the wider EU legal framework of the principles contained in the EPSR, the paper argues that abundant EU resources are available for the areas of equality and employment, but fewer for social inclusion. The empirical evidence on poverty trends over the past decades, however, points to important successes in terms of employment and (gender) equality, but not with respect to social inclusion: a significant increase in employment and defeminisation of poverty have been accompanied by greater precarity for low-skilled men and women. Particularly striking is the rise in the risk of poverty among jobless households, linked with the weakening of the poverty reduction capacity of social protection for this group. Meeting the European social inclusion targets will thus require policies that duly focus on strengthening the framework for social inclusion and social protection.","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142215628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-06DOI: 10.1177/13882627241267989
Alberto Barrio
This contribution presents an overview of the challenges involved in ensuring that persons performing platform work (as either employees, self-employed, or in a third category) are able to effectively access unemployment insurance protection. It also addresses the specific approaches taken by European countries to tackle these challenges, relying especially on the contributions to this special issue on unemployment protection for the self-employed and platform workers.After presenting a brief definition of platform work, the contribution provides an overview of the main challenges linked to unemployment protection insurance posed by the features of platform work; we use primarily the Council Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed as an evaluative framework. These challenges relate to both formal exclusion (due to classification as self-employed or marginal work) and effective exclusion (due to difficulties meeting minimum work requirements and lack of transparency on algorithmic management and platform work). The contribution then analyses some of the main approaches taken by European countries to address such challenges. Actions targeting platform work comprise (a) employment status reclassification; (b) establishment of a presumption of an employment relationship; (c) the setting of requirements to inform on the use of algorithmic management; (d) facilitation of transparency on platform work information; and (e) exemption from formal social security coverage of some forms of (marginal) platform work. General approaches with consequences for the unemployment insurance protection of platform workers include the application of the same criteria for access to unemployment benefits across employment statuses, as well as greater leniency on these criteria for certain forms of non-standard work. The contribution ends with a conclusion, which highlights the main gaps in unemployment insurance protection for platform work, and discusses avenues for action regarding platform work.
{"title":"Unemployment insurance for platform workers: Challenges and approaches from a comparative perspective","authors":"Alberto Barrio","doi":"10.1177/13882627241267989","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241267989","url":null,"abstract":"This contribution presents an overview of the challenges involved in ensuring that persons performing platform work (as either employees, self-employed, or in a third category) are able to effectively access unemployment insurance protection. It also addresses the specific approaches taken by European countries to tackle these challenges, relying especially on the contributions to this special issue on unemployment protection for the self-employed and platform workers.After presenting a brief definition of platform work, the contribution provides an overview of the main challenges linked to unemployment protection insurance posed by the features of platform work; we use primarily the Council Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed as an evaluative framework. These challenges relate to both formal exclusion (due to classification as self-employed or marginal work) and effective exclusion (due to difficulties meeting minimum work requirements and lack of transparency on algorithmic management and platform work). The contribution then analyses some of the main approaches taken by European countries to address such challenges. Actions targeting platform work comprise (a) employment status reclassification; (b) establishment of a presumption of an employment relationship; (c) the setting of requirements to inform on the use of algorithmic management; (d) facilitation of transparency on platform work information; and (e) exemption from formal social security coverage of some forms of (marginal) platform work. General approaches with consequences for the unemployment insurance protection of platform workers include the application of the same criteria for access to unemployment benefits across employment statuses, as well as greater leniency on these criteria for certain forms of non-standard work. The contribution ends with a conclusion, which highlights the main gaps in unemployment insurance protection for platform work, and discusses avenues for action regarding platform work.","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141935499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-06DOI: 10.1177/13882627241264969
Johanna Vallistu
The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the need for better access to unemployment insurance, particularly for solo self-employed workers. Traditionally seen as entrepreneurs bearing their own risks, the line between employment and entrepreneurship for solo self-employed has blurred, raising questions about adequate social protection. This shift is largely attributed to the rise of platform work, often linked with dependent self-employment and a precarious social security landscape for workers. In Estonia, where solo self-employment is increasingly common, access to unemployment insurance and the level of protection depends on the workers’ awareness and intent, as well as the approach adopted by task-mediating platforms in the case of platform workers. While the self-employed, including platform workers, can access insurance by opting for certain legal forms of work and making regular contributions, effective access remains limited. Low and irregular income poses eligibility challenges, and certain legal forms of self-employment can hinder access to benefits, despite eligibility through other means. In the long run, these challenges could undermine the sustainability of Estonia's social security system, emphasising the critical need for comprehensive reforms to ensure equitable access to unemployment insurance for all self-employed individuals, including those engaged in platform work.
{"title":"Bridge to security: Exploring unemployment insurance for solo self-employed in Estonia","authors":"Johanna Vallistu","doi":"10.1177/13882627241264969","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241264969","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the need for better access to unemployment insurance, particularly for solo self-employed workers. Traditionally seen as entrepreneurs bearing their own risks, the line between employment and entrepreneurship for solo self-employed has blurred, raising questions about adequate social protection. This shift is largely attributed to the rise of platform work, often linked with dependent self-employment and a precarious social security landscape for workers. In Estonia, where solo self-employment is increasingly common, access to unemployment insurance and the level of protection depends on the workers’ awareness and intent, as well as the approach adopted by task-mediating platforms in the case of platform workers. While the self-employed, including platform workers, can access insurance by opting for certain legal forms of work and making regular contributions, effective access remains limited. Low and irregular income poses eligibility challenges, and certain legal forms of self-employment can hinder access to benefits, despite eligibility through other means. In the long run, these challenges could undermine the sustainability of Estonia's social security system, emphasising the critical need for comprehensive reforms to ensure equitable access to unemployment insurance for all self-employed individuals, including those engaged in platform work.","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141935455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-25DOI: 10.1177/13882627241263176
Nóra Jakab
This article analyses unemployment protection for platform workers and the self-employed in Hungary. Hungarian legislation lacks a separate, well-designed system for the self-employed and platform workers, who consequently fall under the general unemployment scheme. The Hungarian unemployment scheme is fundamentally a compulsory, Bismarckian-type of unemployment insurance financed by contributions, which acts as compensation for loss of work. The Hungarian legislation also contains a system of services and subsidies that could be considered as a separate protection scheme also addressing unemployment. In this case, the protection provided compensates absence of work, rather than a lack of work. This contribution presents the protection available under Hungarian law for the self-employed and platform workers, via an in-depth analysis of the entitlement conditions, contribution base, and the amount, duration and financing of the unemployment benefit. In this paper we also highlight the difficulties and consequences of the taxation regime for the self-employed and platform workers. As they can pay contributions based on favourable tax rules, these lower social security contributions result in lower unemployment benefits.
{"title":"Unemployment protection for the self-employed and platform workers in Hungary","authors":"Nóra Jakab","doi":"10.1177/13882627241263176","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241263176","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyses unemployment protection for platform workers and the self-employed in Hungary. Hungarian legislation lacks a separate, well-designed system for the self-employed and platform workers, who consequently fall under the general unemployment scheme. The Hungarian unemployment scheme is fundamentally a compulsory, Bismarckian-type of unemployment insurance financed by contributions, which acts as compensation for loss of work. The Hungarian legislation also contains a system of services and subsidies that could be considered as a separate protection scheme also addressing unemployment. In this case, the protection provided compensates absence of work, rather than a lack of work. This contribution presents the protection available under Hungarian law for the self-employed and platform workers, via an in-depth analysis of the entitlement conditions, contribution base, and the amount, duration and financing of the unemployment benefit. In this paper we also highlight the difficulties and consequences of the taxation regime for the self-employed and platform workers. As they can pay contributions based on favourable tax rules, these lower social security contributions result in lower unemployment benefits.","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141775018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-22DOI: 10.1177/13882627241263469
Mariana Geraldo
{"title":"Book Review: Research Handbook on European Social Security Law by Frans Pennings and Gijsbert Vonk","authors":"Mariana Geraldo","doi":"10.1177/13882627241263469","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241263469","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141742996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-06-11DOI: 10.1177/13882627241262680
Abhijeet
{"title":"Book Review: Social dialogue in the gig economy: A comparative empirical analysis by JM Bonvin, N Cianferoni, M Mexi","authors":"Abhijeet","doi":"10.1177/13882627241262680","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13882627241262680","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44670,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Social Security","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141358495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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