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"Several reasons favour increased ‘temporary' intra-EU labour mobility through posting of workers rather than a more ‘permanent' kind of intra-EU labour mobility through migration of EU-workers and self-employed persons, as a prerequisite for an optimum currency area or as a stabilisation tool to support adjustment to asymmetric shocks. Moreover, other criteria to realise an optimum currency area and to stabilise asymmetric shocks, in particular through fiscal transfers and wage flexibility, could be fulfilled by the posting of workers as well. This posting mechanism, which involves workers being temporarily employed in a Member State other than their Member State of origin but still being taxed in their Member State of origin, is therefore a useful stabilisation tool in case the Member State of origin is confronted with an asymmetric shock. The impact of the stabilisation effect of posting workers will be determined by several aspects: the number of posted workers, the wage earned in the Member State of temporary employment and finally the period of posting. This stabilisation effect was calculated for Greece. If some 10% of the current unemployed population living in Greece would be posted for a period of 6 months or longer, yearly approximately € 1 billion labour tax revenues would be collected by Greece, which is equal to roughly 4% of their total labour tax revenues. We recommend on this basis that Greece could encourage the use of posting of workers as potential stabilisation tool."

"Posted workers provide on a temporary basis services for their employer outside the Member State where the employer is established. Their wages are taxed for a certain period of time at the taxation level of the sending Member State, which is also the recipient of these tax revenues. The differences in labour tax rates between the sending and the receiving Member State might lead to a tax and competitive advantage for ‘foreign' service providers and their employees posted to another Member State. Labour taxes levied to the income of the posted workers are estimated to be equal to approximately 0.7% of the total monthly labour tax revenues of the sending Member States. Sending ‘new' Member States are clearly more dependent on the labour tax revenues of posted workers as share of the total labour tax revenues compared to the sending ‘old' Member States. Also, labour tax revenues from these workers living in the sending ‘new' Member States would decrease by 77% if these workers would not be posted but employed in their sending Member State. This outcome is the result of an important flow of posted workers towards higherwage Member States. It proves that sending Member States benefit from respecting minimum wages in the Member State of employment and the collection of the proper amount of social contributions and income taxes. Otherwise, these labour tax revenues will be much lower. An alternative scenario, a tax harmonisation based on the ‘source' principle (i.e. paying taxes at the taxation level of the receiving Member State in the sending Member State) could be introduced in order to remove tax competition and to create (already ongoing) upward ‘social' convergence. This alternative scenario on average increases labour tax revenues from posted workers ‘only' by 3% compared to the current situation, in particular since labour tax rates of the ‘new' and ‘old' Member States are quite similar to each other. Where labour tax revenues from posted workers will decrease by 2% in the ‘old' sending Member States, a higher increase of revenues will be realised in the ‘new' sending Member States (+8%)."

"Ce volume présente les conclusions d'un projet de recherche sur la qualité du travail et de l'emploi en Belgique. Toutes les conclusions sont basées sur des analyses par différents experts belges des données recueillies par le biais de l'Enquête européenne sur les conditions de travail. Les différentes contributions sous-tendent une politique améliorant la qualité du travail en Belgique. La chance de bénéficier d'un travail de bonne qualité et le risque d'effectuer un travail de mauvaise qualité ne sont pas uniformément répartis au sein de la population active. Le sexe, la profession, le secteur et la taille de la société sont des facteurs importants de la qualité de l'emploi des travailleurs. Et, en même temps, un type différent de qualité de travail est associé à différentes incidences sur la santé, le ‘travail à temps plein équilibré' étant, en particulier, associé à de bons résultats. Un facteur essentiel de la qualité du travail sur le plan des risques professionnels pour la santé réside naturellement dans un lieu de travail sûr. La violence et le harcèlement composent un deuxième élément lourd de conséquences très négatives pour la santé. Ces résultats justifient que le cadre juridique belge actuel se concentre essentiellement sur la prévention des risques, en prêtant une attention particulière à la violence et au harcèlement au travail. Par ailleurs, un climat social clément et la régulation du stress émotionnel et de la pression liée à la rapidité semblent être essentiels à une bonne politique en matière de qualité du travail."

"This thematic report focuses on changes in individual careers, trajectories on the labour market and occupational identities. It analyses the driving forces behind these changes and considers wider societal trends concerning the changing meaning of work. The conclusions highlight key trends in careers and trajectories: the widening of the spectrum of career models; the multiplication of fragmented trajectories; the plurality of models of identity formation at work; the new balance between internal and external labour markets; the individualisation of human resource management; the decline of traditional forms of collective involvement and the emergence of new forms of social bonding at work; and finally the increasing importance of the expressive dimension in the relation to work."

"Drawing on both the quantitative and qualitative research findings of the WORKS project, this report analyses the impact of global restructuring processes on the organisation of working time and also examines its contribution to the creation of work-life balance. With a special focus on gender relations, it illustrates how men and women are dealing with changing temporal demands in different sectors and occupations.

In relation to working time, the results highlight a tendency towards destandardisation and increasing differentiation of temporal models: with an increase in atypical hours, flexi-time, and shortened as well as lengthened working hours.

Besides this differentiation, the most important impact of restructuring seems to be a growing intensification of work - not necessarily as a prolongation of working time but as a speeding up of pace and workloads.

In terms of work-life balance, intensified work profiles increase demands on the combination of work and family, a field which remains strongly gendered. Here, occupational contexts are crucial for assessing change processes. A high autonomy in working time offers some women in high-skilled occupations the option of developing emancipated strategies. Women working in lower skilled occupations follow traditional gender rules and depend much more on temporal frameworks laid down by the employers.

In both fields, country differences underline the importance of institutional support in times of globalisation."

"This book analyses the consequences of restructuring on health and safety and quality of work life with a specific focus on psychosocial risks. Drawing on the case study research of the WORKS project, it outlines some cross national trends in the EU, focusing on the known causes of stress: demands in work; influence over work; social support; recognition and reward; predictability and meaning.
In general, the case-studies tell a story of a worsening psychosocial work environment as a result of restructuring. However, new opportunities may be deteceted as well: increased meaning and recognition; upskilling; more social support thanks to team-work. The report concludes with some recommendations: more explicit coverage of change and restructuring in both national and EU health and safety legislation; improved change management with a focus on reducing workload; worker participation in restructuring process; and a strong attention to the consequences of flexibility for health and safety."

"After years of consultation in the European Union, the European Directive on Temporary Agency Work was approved at the end of 2008. The Directive aims to ensure that temporary agency workers are treated on an equal basis with permanent workers, and this from day one of their assignment. As a consequence of this Directive, EU Member States must review and justify existing restrictions or prohibitions on the use of temporary agency work from 2009 on. It is of much importance that Member States implementing this Directive take care of the vulnerable position on health and safety risks of temporary workers.

This brochure documents the long and difficult road that proceeded the Directive. Drawing on various good practices, it illustrates how Member States can integrate temporary (agency) work safely in national economies. The brochure hopes to support this implementation process in the different Member States. It is written for all stakeholders involved in this process."