Publications on Labour Law – serie

This book investigates whether one of the basic norms underlying contemporary labour law in the EU - standard work - has been subject to drastic changes. Standard work, usually defined as fulltime, permanent employment for a single employer, has traditionally been the most common form of work structure, and various legal obligations and protections are strongly associated with it. However, standard work seems to have increasingly come under attack in recent years. This project investigates how far standard work continues to influence labour law structures in several representative EU Member States. Claims that standard work is in severe decline have been somewhat exaggerated, yet the influence of perceptions of the decline of standard work needs to be examined. The project aims to ask whether EU Member States are actively dismantling legal structures built up around standard work, and if so, what is driving this, and what the effects of such changes might be. The book addresses important questions such as "Do changes in standard work extend labour law protections to a wider class of workers, or do they just leave more workers unprotected?" and "Do changes in standard work help address the charge that basing labour law protections on standard work discriminates against certain classes of workers?"The project therefore deals with some central concerns of contemporary labour law. With contributions by Jan Buelens, Ferran Camas Roda, Raluca Dimitriu, Kim Hakvoort, Jari Hellsten, Wolfhard Kothe, Barbara Kresal, John Pearson, Ceciel Rayer, Kelly Reyniers and Cathleen Rosendahl. They all are important labour law scholars from countries representing the main labour law traditions in the European Union.

It may seem dangerous to express oneself on the future of labour law, since it is widely considered to be in crisis by scholars of the field. There is no doubt that anyone attempting to predict the probable developments by presenting hypotheses regarding these developments runs the risk of making errors. Especially the impossibility to guarantee the relevancy of the chosen parameters and a correct evaluation of the nature of their relations could lead to erroneous predictions. The same applies when one has the ambition to pronounce oneself on the future of institutions, structures or procedures laid down in and protected by law. The objective of this book is threefold. First of all, it draws attention to a number of phenomena and processes both within and outside the law that affect the protective mechanisms and essential functions of labour law. Secondly, the authors want to point out their main causes and principal consequences. Finally, the book reflects the remedies proposed by the authors to preserve the essential task of labour law.Those objectives are achieved by developing the following four themes: the existential relation between labour law, the labour market and social competition; the historical tie between labour law and human dignity; the relationship between labour law, market law and (social) competition law; and finally the risk of a renewed contestation of the dignity of working people. The aim of this book is to provide intellectually challenging ideas for those interested in understanding, explaining and interpreting labour laws - whether they are scholars, practitioners, judges, policy-makers, or workers and employers. With contributions of Jan Buelens, Wolfgang Daubler, Rene de Quenaudon, Filip Dorssemont, Teun Jaspers, Barbara Kresal, Fleur Laronze, Amanda Latinne, Esteban Martinez, Giovanni Orlandini, Kelly Reyniers, Marc Rigaux, Willemijn Roozendaal and Jens M. Schubert.'