FIXED-TERM WORK IN EUROPE: TRENDS AND SOCIAL IMPACTS

Martin Fritz

European Data Laboratory for Comparative Social Research

(EUROLAB), GESIS, Cologne

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 2

Current trends in the world of (flexible) work- a sociological perspective

De-standardization, De-regulation, Flexibilization,

Expansion of Non-Standard Employment

wage-labour based Fordism as social/employment standard

finance-driven Post-Fordism

Innovations (ICT), Globalization, Policy decisions, Value change

Will there be a new socially inclusive employment standard?

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 3

EU Directives to establish this new socially inclusive employment standard:

The European Social Partners ETUC, UNICE and CEEP developed a framework agreement on fixed-term work put into effect by COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 1999/70/EC :

• purpose: to improve the quality of fixed-term work

• by a) applying the principle of non-discrimination and b) measures to prevent abuse

What are the social differences between fixed-term and permanent work, so that there is a need for non-discrimination?

What social problems are caused by fixed-term work?

How can social inclusion be achieved?

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 4

EU Directive on fixed-term work

From the preamble of COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 1999/70/EC :

“They [the social partners] also recognize that fixed-term employment contracts respond, in certain circumstances, to the needs of both employers and workers.”? Why should employees prefer to have a fixed-term rather than a permanent contract? Or does this mean they prefer it over being unemployed?

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 5

What Sociologists think:

Zygmunt Bauman Pierre BourdieuRichard Sennett Ulrich Beck

The rise in fixed-term work has objective and subjective, individual and societal consequences:

In-work Poverty

Inequality

Depressions

feelings of replaceability

growing distrust

Insecurity

anomie

precarity

flexploitation

loss of solidarity

corrosion of character

chains of uncertainty

Anxieties about future

loss of long-term orientation

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 6

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

EU15 The Netherlands SpainPoland Germany United KingdomSweden France Ireland

Implementation of Directive 99/70/ECon fixed-term employment

Incidence of fixed-term/temporary employment in Europe (in % of all employees, 15-74 years), source: Eurostat

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 7

What is behind this slowly rising overall trend and the country differences?

1. Who is doing fixed-term work?

• groups that are relatively new on the labour markets: very young and older persons and women?

• or vulnerable workers who can‘t find other job?

social structure of fixed-term work: gender, age and education

2. What changes occured within the social structure of fixed-term workers in the last years?

• does it become more gendered, are increasingly young people holding fixed-term contracts or more and more the low-skilled?

looking at trends

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 8

Composition of fixed-term work: gender, age and education, source: Eurostat

Spain

Poland

France

Ireland

The Netherlands

Sweden

United Kingdom

Germany

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100%

Share of persons aged 25-49 in fixed-term

employment 2008 (%)

25-49 years 15-24 years 50-74 years

Germany

Spain

Poland

The Netherlands

France

United Kingdom

Ireland

Sweden

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100%

Share of men in fixed-term employment 2008

(in %)

men women

Spain

The Netherlands

Germany

France

Sweden

Ireland

United Kingdom

Poland

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Share of persons with lower education in fixed-term employment 2008 (in %)

education low education mediumeducation high

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 9

France

Germany

Ireland

Netherlands

Poland

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

-15 0 15

share of persons 25-49 years oldshare of persons with low educationshare of men

Changes in the socio-demographic composition of fixed-term employment from 1998-2008 (%), source: Eurostat

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 10

Social Problems of Fixed-term Work

2 Examples:

• Poverty as economic insecurity

• Anomie at country level

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 11

Poverty rates for permanent and temporary work, 27 European countries, 18-64yrs

EE LT LV RO HU SK SI CZ BG PL AT LU BE DE NL FR NO IS SE FI UK IE CY IT PT GR ES

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

permanent

temporary

Source: vanLancker 2013, based on EU-SILC 2008 data

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 12

Extracts from multilevel logistic regressions on the risk of poverty (odds ratios) All workers Temporary

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5Type of contractPermanent Ref. Ref. Ref.Temporary 1.99 *** 1.95 *** 1.23 ***

Age cohorts18-29 0.92 * 0.67 *** 0.73 *** 0.71 ***30-44 Ref. Ref. Ref. Ref.45-64 0.85 *** 0.94 * 0.81 ** 0.73 **

Gender (male = ref.) 0.86 *** 0.46 *** 0.59 *** 0.58 ***

Household compositionChildren (no children = ref.) 4.13 *** 5.26 *** 3.95 *** 3.67 ***

Partner (single = ref.) 0.84 *** 0.94 * 1.04 1.03Dual earner (single earner = ref.)

0.24 *** 0.19 *** 0.20 *** 0.17 ***

EducationLow 2.05 *** 1.52 *** 1.52 *** 1.54 ***Medium Ref. Ref. Ref. Ref.High 0.35 *** 0.67 *** 0.66 *** 0.60 ***

Monthly gross wages 0.11 *** 0.14 *** 0.13 ***… … … … … …Deviance 61.613 56.582 47.958 9.547 9.474Observations 151.649 151.649 151.649 16.189 16.189

Source: vanLancker 2013, based on EU-SILC 2008 data

* p<0.05, ** p<0.01, *** p<0.001.

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 13

FT-CONTRACTS

ft-c_male

ft-c_female

ft-c_young

ft-c_middle-aged

ft-c_old

ft-c_edu_low

ft-c_edu_medium

ft-c_edu_hi

GDP

HDIGINI

FEMALE EMPLOYMENT

DIVORCE-MARRIAGE-RATE

TRADE UNION DENSITY

FERTILITY

TRUST

LT-UNEMPLOYMENT

PRISONERS

SOCIAL PROTECTION

0.5

0.5

λ1=0.163(44.3%)

λ2=0.055(14.9%)

Inequality & Exclusion

Wealth & Welfare

Labour-based Solidarity

Source: Fritz 2013

Extracts from Correspondence Analyses on anomie and non-standard employment at country level

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 14

BE98

CZ98

DK98

DE98

IE98

EL98

ES98

FR98

IT98

LU98HU98

NL98

AU98PL98

PT98

RO98

SI98

FI98 SE98

UK98

BE08

CZ08

DK08

DE08IE08

EL08

ES08FR08

IT08

LU08HU08

NL08

AU08

PL08

PT08

RO08SI08

FI08

SE08

UK08

0.5

0.5

λ1=0.163(44.3%)

λ2=0.055(14.9%)

Inequality & Exclusion

Wealth & Welfare

Labour-based Solidarity

Source: Fritz 2013

Extracts from Correspondence Analyses on anomie and non-standard employment at country level

Fritz: Fixed-Term Work in Europe 15

Conclusions

• Fixed-term work is especially problematic for: families, lower educated persons and in countries with dominance of male breadwinner model, i.e. South European countries

• DIRECTIVE 1999/70/EC on fixed-term work does not solve this problems, thus it doesn’t contribute to a new socially inclusive employment standard

• other forms of flexible work (as part-time work) can contribute more to a new standard as also social policy measures like minimum incomes and wages etc. which protect especially the most vulnerable

More information in our book: Max Koch & Martin Fritz „Non-Standard Employment in Europe. Paradigms, Prevalence and Policy Responses.“