Countering a 'de-flex’ Domino Effect in Europe

The recruitment sector across Europe grew by 7.7 per cent over last year. That's the good news. The not so good news is that regulatory challenges threaten to row back on hard-won recognition for the positive role of agency work in many countries. A recent Eurociett meeting in Berlin focused on the specific legislative threat in Germany and on the need to counter a potential domino effect across other European markets. 

Regulatory challenges in Germany

The immediate priority in Germany is to push back on proposed regulations that would limit the length of temporary assignments, impose complex equal pay measures and create significant disincentives for employers to use outsourced arrangements and contracts for services (including the use of IT contractors).

The German federation, BAP, is engaging with the highest levels of government and there have been encouraging developments over recent weeks. Proposals on contracts for services have been softened, derogations have been put forward that would enable temporary assignments to go beyond the 18 month cut-off, and more clarity has been provided on how equal pay can be established – although more clarity is still needed.

This month’s regional elections in Germany will delay the legislative process but BAP will continue to drive a proactive campaign. Speaking at the meeting in Berlin, BAP representative on the Eurociett board, Julia Große-Wilde, highlighted the need to "continue underlining the fact that agency work in Germany has been a huge success story and has boosted labour market inclusion over the last ten years".

Talking up the benefits that the recruitment sector brings for job seekers and for businesses was a core theme of the REC's Flex Appeal report and has been an important way forward in other EU countries facing a regulatory squeeze. 

Developments in other EU countries

Several other developments were highlighted at the Eurociett meeting:

-          In Holland new regulations on self-employment could place more risk on end-users

-          In Belgium restrictions such as a ban on supplying temporary staff to work in ports are still in place.

-          There is a renewed focus on civil contracts in Poland and a huge drive to increase barriers in Sweden. 

-          In France the focus is on enhancing the portability of rights - such as pensions, holiday entitlements and tax rebates for agency staff. The French federation, Prism’ Emploi, is feeding into this and into the broader labour market debate, which is set to be a major topic ahead of the French presidential elections in 2017.

What does this mean for us?

Whilst the focus in the UK is on the EU referendum, we must not lose sight of some of the immediate challenges facing the recruitment sector across Europe. As a member of Eurociett, the REC’s mission is to support other national federations and to ensure that we take forward a strong collective voice.

Discussions in Berlin underlined the need to counter the 'de-flex’ domino effect that would not only be damaging to the industry but also to millions of job seekers. UK agencies with interests in other EU countries can feed into the ongoing campaigning activities by working with REC and other national federations.