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Davies, A. C. L. --- "Job security and flexicurity" [2016] ELECD 1419; in Bogg, Alan; Costello, Cathryn; Davies, C.L. A. (eds), "Research Handbook on EU Labour Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 217

Book Title: Research Handbook on EU Labour Law

Editor(s): Bogg, Alan; Costello, Cathryn; Davies, C.L. A.

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781783471119

Section: Chapter 10

Section Title: Job security and flexicurity

Author(s): Davies, A. C. L.

Number of pages: 29

Abstract/Description:

Most EU Member States currently face high levels of unemployment, particularly (but not exclusively) among young people. This problem has been evident for many years, but it has worsened significantly since the global financial crisis and the ensuing recession. The European Commission has proposed a series of policies to combat unemployment, grouped together under the heading of ‘flexicurity’. This set of policies – like the term ‘flexicurity’ itself – purports to combine greater flexibility in labour markets with security for workers. The hope it holds out is that new jobs can be created through the flexibility component without having to abandon the security that is one of the hallmarks of the European Social Model. During and after the crisis, the Commission has continued to emphasise flexicurity in its public pronouncements on labour market reform and job creation. For many labour lawyers, flexicurity presents something of a dilemma. On the one hand, there is growing recognition of the fact that labour law (and labour lawyers) should not just be concerned with those in work, but should also recognise the plight of those with no job at all. Unemployment should be regarded as a pressing policy concern within labour law, broadly defined. On the other hand, there is a real concern that policy-makers may adopt the view of many neoclassical economists that labour law is an impediment to job creation and therefore part of the problem. Policies based on flexibility are particularly worrying in this regard because of the likelihood that flexibility for employers might result in insecurity for workers.