Employment Policy and the Regulation of Part-time Work in the European Union: A Comparative Analysis

COVER......Page 1
HALF-TITLE......Page 3
TITLE......Page 5
COPYRIGHT......Page 6
CONTENTS......Page 7
FIGURES AND TABLES......Page 9
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS......Page 10
PREFACE......Page 15
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 18
PART I......Page 21
1 The centrality of comparative labour law in the open method of co-ordination......Page 23
2 Innovation and continuity in labour law: why a comparative analysis of part-time work, and how to structure legal comparison......Page 35
3 A brief history of the Directive on part-time work......Page 41
4 Labour market regulations in the European context: a soft law environment......Page 46
4.1 The White Paper on Governance......Page 47
4.2 The Laeken Declaration......Page 49
4.3 The High Level Group on Industrial Relations......Page 51
5 Conclusions......Page 53
2 The (legal) status of the Employment Guidelines and the National Action Plans......Page 55
2.1 The development of National Action Plans......Page 60
2.2 What does compliance mean? Member States’ compliance with the European Employment Strategy......Page 63
3 The Employment Strategy and the regulation of part-time work......Page 72
3.1 Flexibility and part-time work......Page 73
3.2 Quality in work......Page 79
4 Conclusions......Page 81
1 Introduction......Page 83
2 Establishing a framework of analysis......Page 84
2.1 Objectives......Page 85
2.3 Regulatory approaches......Page 86
2.5 Relationship between objectives, approaches and techniques......Page 87
2.7 The relevance of the Employment Guidelines......Page 88
2.8 Pursuing the inquiry into the interaction between EU regulation and Member State regulation......Page 89
3.1 The typical pattern in the Member States in general......Page 90
3.2 The development of regulation of part-time work in particular Member States down to 1997......Page 91
4.1 The reflexive character of the EU regulation of part-time work......Page 96
4.2 The impact of the Directive and the Strategy upon the regulation of part-time work in the Member States......Page 98
4.3 Conclusion – a reflexive paradigm for future EU regulation?......Page 102
PART II......Page 103
1.1 Some facts and figures......Page 105
1.2 Chronology of the legal environment......Page 106
2.1 Part-time work attracting financial aid......Page 110
2.2.1 Establishment of a principle of equality independently of Community law......Page 111
2.2.2 Recognition of special rights......Page 116
2.2.3 Flexibility offered by the use of part-time work......Page 118
3.1 Community influence on the definition of part-time work......Page 120
3.2 Growing emphasis on voluntary part-time work......Page 122
3.3 Flexibility restored through collective bargaining......Page 128
4.1 The high profile of part-time work in EES Employment Guidelines......Page 133
4.2 The more marginal position of part-time work in France’s NAPs......Page 135
1.2 Categorisation by occupation......Page 141
1.4 The family and part-time employment......Page 142
2.1.1 Views of employees and trade unions......Page 143
2.1.2 Views of employers and employers’ organisations......Page 144
2.2.1 Alliance for Work......Page 145
2.2.2 Collective agreements......Page 147
3.2 The influence of European law on the regulation of part-time work......Page 148
4.1.1 Provisions of the Promotion of Employment Act regulating part-time employment......Page 149
4.1.2 The statutory definition of part-time work......Page 150
4.1.4 Specially regulated forms of part-time work......Page 151
4.2.1 Social insurance law......Page 154
4.2.2 Unemployment insurance......Page 156
4.2.3 The promotion of part-time work combined with family duties under social security law......Page 157
4.3 The particular case of partial retirement (Altersteilzeit)......Page 159
4.4.1 Objectives of the Act......Page 162
4.4.2 Content of the new Act......Page 163
5.1 The role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)......Page 168
5.2 The proposals by the EC Commission for reconciling work and family......Page 171
5.4 EC Employment Guidelines and the German NAPs......Page 172
6 Conclusions......Page 173
1 The ‘eloquent silences’ of the Italian legislation before 1984......Page 176
2 The part-time work reform in Italy (2000) and its demise foretold (2001): two different visions of the same EU Employment Strategy......Page 178
3 The employment-promoting value of part-time work: making sense of comparative data and EU Employment Guidelines......Page 180
3.1 Part-time work as a means to reduce unemployment......Page 181
3.2 Part-time work as a means to increase employment......Page 184
4 Post-Lisbon EU employment strategies and domestic policy targets in Italy: the connections between labour force participation and ‘good’ part-time jobs......Page 186
4.1 The aim of the EC Directive and its reinterpretation in the Government White Paper on the Labour Market…......Page 188
4.2 At the basis of current Italian legislation on part-time work: employment as an ‘institution’ and private autonomy as a ‘medium’......Page 191
5 The real ground for assessment of the potential of part-time work to increase employment: flexible, individual organisation of working hours......Page 193
5.1.1 Extra hours and collective autonomy......Page 195
5.1.2 Extra hours and individual autonomy......Page 197
5.2 The scheduling of part-time work and elasticity clauses......Page 200
6 Conclusions: the other side of flexibility......Page 204
Postscript......Page 208
1 Introduction......Page 210
2 The growth of part-time work as a spontaneous process......Page 213
3.1 From collective towards individual working-time reduction......Page 215
3.2 The Wassenaar Agreement: a turning point......Page 217
4.1 Statutory legislation......Page 221
4.1.1 The Prohibition of Discrimination by Working Hours Act (WVOA)......Page 222
4.1.2 Adjustment of Working Hours Act (WAA)......Page 223
4.2 Case-law on part-time work......Page 231
4.2.1 Good employership......Page 232
4.2.2 The Equal Treatment Commission......Page 233
5 Conclusions......Page 234
Part-time employment in business practice......Page 235
1 Introduction......Page 244
2.1 The quantity variable: a statistical approximation......Page 246
2.2 The quality variable: a socially discredited form of work......Page 248
3 Legal policy choices on the regulation of part-time work......Page 250
3.1 A stability lost......Page 253
3.2 A flexibility imposed......Page 255
3.3 Ups and downs in the quest for security......Page 259
4 Heteronomy and autonomy in the statutory regulation of part-time work......Page 264
5.1 Unity and diversity in the form of the part-time contract of employment......Page 268
5.2 The legal concept of part-time work......Page 269
5.3 The principle of voluntariness and part-time work......Page 272
5.4 Equality and proportionality in the recognition and exercise of rights......Page 275
1 Introductory remarks......Page 278
2.2 Abolition of the closing hours laws......Page 279
2.3 Past developments in figures......Page 280
3 Present statistics on part-time work in Sweden......Page 283
4 Ideologies and interests at stake with respect to part-time work......Page 286
5 Part-time work as defined......Page 288
6.1 Employment Protection Act (Lag om anställningsskydd)......Page 291
6.2 Working Hours Act (Arbetstidslag)......Page 293
7 Collective agreements on part-time work......Page 294
7.1 The local government sector......Page 295
7.2 The central government sector......Page 296
7.4 Summing-up......Page 298
8.1 Introduction......Page 299
8.2 The ILO Convention on Part-time Work......Page 300
8.3 The essence of the proposals to implement the Part-time Directive......Page 301
8.4 Public comments submitted by interested parties......Page 302
8.5 A closer look at the Ministry report and the Government Bill......Page 303
8.5.2 Direct and indirect discrimination......Page 304
8.5.3 Refusal to accept a transfer from full-time to part-time work or vice versa......Page 305
8.5.4 Promotional provisions of the Framework Agreement......Page 306
8.5.5 ‘Employee working part-time’ defined......Page 307
10 Part-time work and Sweden’s National Action Plans in the light of EC Employment Guidelines......Page 308
11 Gender implications......Page 313
12 Summing-up......Page 317
1 Transformation and governance......Page 319
2 Procedural governance......Page 321
2.2 The Part-time Directive – the DTI and Parliament......Page 322
2.3 Title VIII EC – timing and UK responsibility......Page 323
3 Substantive governance......Page 326
4 Aregulatory and social profile of part-time work in the UK......Page 328
5 Gender discrimination law......Page 333
5.1 The employment law thresholds......Page 334
5.2 The Lower Earnings Limit......Page 336
5.3 Ensuring part-timers are not treated worse than full-timers......Page 337
5.4 Work–life balance options......Page 340
5.5 Limitations of the multi-level gender discrimination discourse......Page 341
6.1 The anti-discrimination principle: personal and comparative scope......Page 342
6.2 What happened to Clause 5?......Page 349
6.3 Parliament, the DTI and implementation of the Part-time Directive......Page 351
6.4 On-going part-time work governance......Page 354
6.5 The Part-Time (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (Amendment) Regulations 2002......Page 356
6.6 Policy autonomy and ownership: UK work–life balance initiatives......Page 357
6.7 Conclusions on flexible working......Page 362
7 Title VIII EC and part-time work in the UK......Page 363
7.1.1 More jobs......Page 365
7.1.2 More people in jobs......Page 368
7.2 Better jobs......Page 371
8 Conclusions......Page 375
INDEX......Page 378