This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 representative European Union Company survey of Operating hours, Working times and Employment (EUCOWE) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The EUCOWE project is the first representative and standardised European company survey which covers all categories of firm sizes and all sectors of the economy. This volume complements and builds on the first book published in 2007, in which the methodology and the descriptive national findings as well as some first comparative analytical results were presented. In this second book the EUCOWE research team presents in-depth cross-country analyses of the relationship between operating hours, working times and employment in the European Union. Six empirical chapters of this volume provide detailed comparative analyses of the determinants and consequences of the duration and flexibility of opening hours and operating times.

This book presents findings and results from the recent European Union Company survey of Operating hours, Working times and Employment (EUCOWE) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The EUCOWE-project is the first standardised company survey covering all sizes of firms and all sectors of the economy. It is the most comprehensive analysis yet published on Operating Hours, Capacity Utilisation, Working Times and Employment in the EU.

Drawing on case studies from France, Germany, and China, this book argues that the dynamic interactions between time and autonomy have fundamentally reshaped the evolution of work. Jens Thoemmes details how time autonomy transitioned from early efforts to reduce working hours to today’s complex debates about managing work time. Initially focused on reclaiming time from employers during the nineteenth century, time autonomy has broadened to encompass how work integrates into overall social time. Beginning in the late 1960s, new tools like flexitime, time-savings accounts, and telecommuting began aligning employee aspirations with production demands, marking a shift towards more flexible work arrangements. Placing work environments from France, Germany, and China in comparative perspective, this book explores the way time autonomy varies in different workplaces and socioeconomic contexts as well as the conditions, opportunities, and risks involved.

This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 representative European Union Company survey of Operating hours, Working times and Employment (EUCOWE) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The EUCOWE project is the first representative and standardised European company survey which covers all categories of firm sizes and all sectors of the economy. This volume complements and builds on the first book published in 2007, in which the methodology and the descriptive national findings as well as some first comparative analytical results were presented. In this second book the EUCOWE research team presents in-depth cross-country analyses of the relationship between operating hours, working times and employment in the European Union. Six empirical chapters of this volume provide detailed comparative analyses of the determinants and consequences of the duration and flexibility of opening hours and operating times.

Macrocomparative researchers use a variety of methodological approaches. This book features analyses of a single substantive topic, comparative employment performance in affluent countries, using three of the most common macrocomparative techniques: pooled cross-section time-series regression, qualitative comparative analysis, and small-N analysis.

This book originates from the research project 'New discourses in labour law' held at the European University Institute. A detailed analysis of part-time work regulation is presented for seven European countries, in order to ascertain how internal domestic choices of the legislatures have merged into the 'Open method of co-ordination'. The impact of European employment policies is considered in parallel with the implementation of the Directive on part-time work, thus providing a complete overview of both soft and hard law mechanisms available to national policy-makers. In this 2004 work, the interaction between law and policy emerges as a dynamic and constantly changing process of exchange between national and supranational actors, through the use of concrete examples of lawmaking. Labour law is put forward as being central in the current evolution of European law, and this centrality is presented as a confirmation of innovation and continuity in regulatory techniques.

This book argues that the European Social Model can only be sustained in the current economic crisis if social and employment policies are adequately recognised as integral parts of European economic policy-making. The contributing authors investigate

In-work poverty is a reality for too many persons in the European Union (EU). Although everyone is in agreement that poverty must be reduced, rarely is there a specific focus on the plight of those who, despite working, are poor. This important book is the first to unreservedly meet the challenge of defining, measuring, and comparing the legal regimes to combat in-work poverty in Europe, fully attending to the strengths and shortcomings of indicators and allowing the assessment of comparative best practices among the Member States. The distinguished contributors each describe and analyse this complex and multidimensional phenomenon, with its manifold and intertwined causes, in relation to such factors as the following: employment-related factors (wage, type of contract, atypical employment); worker’s socio-demographic characteristics (level of education, gender, age, country of birth); size and composition of household; household work intensity; and institutional factors (childcare, flexible work arrangements, employment protection, housing, technological change). In a major innovation, the book’s methodology approaches the ‘working poor’ by distinctly defining four groups of vulnerable and under-represented persons (VUPs) with detailed statistical information on in-work poverty in each group. Following an in-depth introduction focusing on the definition and ramifications of the concept of in-work poverty – including a discussion of legal scholarship and relevant EU instruments – the situations in seven EU Member States (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden) are compared, revealing important variations. For each of the VUP groups, these chapters explain their composition at the national level and assess the impact of regulation on the incidence of in-work poverty. The last chapter highlights differences and similarities in an attempt to find patterns and identify common regulatory problems and best practices. The book’s comparative perspective greatly assists in understanding in-work poverty determinants, appraising varieties of relevant national policies, and stimulating the development of effective legal measures. With its close analysis of the limitations of existing measurement indicators, the book sheds light on the role of regulation in the prevalence and persistence of the phenomenon and equips policymakers at the EU and national levels with targeted tools to tackle this severe social problem.

The international literature on non-standard employment has mostly focussed on its impact on employment, and more recently on working and living conditions. This volume explores these issues with special reference to Italy. Italy is characterized by very low participation rates (particularly women’s), a high degree of fragmentation of labour contracts and a very intense non-standard work diffusion that make this context a particularly interesting case for analysis. New elements of discussion are provided with reference to the interaction of non-standard work, employment probability and living conditions. Interesting insights on the impact of non-standard work on the transition to stable employment and workers’ careers emerge, suggesting a possible failure of companies’ internal systems of work evaluation. The effects on labour productivity and on companies’ performance are analysed. Within this framework, a new perspective on quality of work is suggested.

No one can deny the significance attributed to the issue of reconciling work and private life by contemporary society, the EU and other international organisations. Its relevance is evident in the multifaceted nature of this topic and the need for each party to the employment contract to strike a proper balance between professional and personal responsibilities, based on the assumption that people can successfully harmonise their work with life. Following on from these considerations, this volume provides a detailed analysis of work-life balance and its regulation in a number of EU countries, emphasizing the consequences that the current economic crisis has brought about in this field.