WP 68 - From Policy to Practice: Assessing sectoral flexicurity in the Netherlands

The combination of flexibility and security (i.e. flexcicurity) in labour markets has become a pivotal feature of the European Commission’s view on the reform of labour markets across Europe. In this view, the Netherlands is seen as an ‘example of flexicurity’, mainly because of its adoption of the 1999 Law on Flexibility and Security. Because this law allows for deviation within collective agreements, we argue that this is the most appropriate unit of analysis when analysing flexicurity outcomes. We focus on three aspects of the F&S Law: notice periods, trial periods, and the use of fixed-term contracts. We analyse collective agreements at sector-level and find that the flexicurity-balance in these three aspects tilts towards the flexibility side. As a next explorative step we use some sector-characteristics to explain the flexicurity balance within sectors: business cycle sensitivity, openness to competition, scarcity of labour, and union strength. These four factors show a more diffused impact on the flexicurity balance than we hypothesize.

WP 54 - Temporary agency work in the Netherlands

This paper is the result of a study on temp agency workers and on the role that temp agency work played in company’s staffing strategies and on industry and national regulations regarding temp agencies and temp agency work. It was conducted in2004-2006, as part of a larger project on low wage work in the Netherlands, which was part of a five country study for the Russell Sage Foundation, USA. In order to provide a background for understanding temporary agency work, recent developments in and the various forms of external numerical flexibility in the Netherlands are sketched first. The temporary agency market apparently is well equipped to provide services for firms’ demands for flexible labor. The largest volume of temp work through agencies includes rather low-skilled jobs for manufacturing, transport, cleaning and administrative work, although most large temp work agencies also maintain specialized departments for outsourcing nurses, secretaries, managers, and other professional medical or technical staff. If one relates the 2004 figures to the Dutch dependent workforce at large, temp agency workers made up 6.0 percent (head-count) of that workforce, and 4.5 percent in FTEs. In firms using temp agency workers, on average 7 percent of the workforce recently was made up of temp agency workers. Major motives for companies to hire temp agency workers are peaks in production, mostly predictable peaks, as well as replacement of staff falling ill. As for the regulatory regime, in the late 1990s, two species of legislation were introduced that are of relevance here. The Flexibility and Security (‘Flexicurity’) Act of 1999, replacing the 1965 law, is most important for the regulation of employment relationships in and by temp work agencies. The 1998 WAADI Act regulates the temp agency product market, and abolished the former license system, although the government kept the option open to reinstate such a system ‘in the interest of good relations on the labour market or the interests of the personell concerned’. For temp work agencies the main implication of the new law was that agreements between them and employees were to be employment contracts. As temp work agencies are assumed to bear employer responsibility, this may lead to larger security for temp agency workers. Temp agency workers are for the larger part covered by a collective agreement, concluded by General Federation Temporary Work Agencies - ABU with the major trade unions. After mandatory extension, about 94 percent of the temp agency workers were covered by an agreement. For typologies of temp agency workers on employment status and education we have analysed the 2004 data of the WageIndicator, collected via a web-based survey addressing the labor force in the Netherlands. The analyses show that 1.7 percent of the observations concerned a temp agency worker. Of this group, one out of ten indicated to be a school pupil or student. Another five percent was a housewife/man with a job on the side, partly disabled, unemployed, or working without loss of unemployment benefits. Temp agency work is often associated with people with a weak position in the labour market, but it appeared that temp agency workers did not significantly differ from other workers with regard to their years of education, although they more often had enjoyed general education instead of vocational education. Temp agency workers are typically young workers, as they proved to be relatively younger than the workforce of any other large branch of industry. Compared with their share in the total Dutch workforce, migrant workers, from western or from non-western origin, are comparatively more often employed via temp work agencies.

Flexibility and Security in Temporary Work: A Comparative and European Debate. WP C.S.D.L.E. "Massimo D'Antona" .INT - 56/200

Preface. ....The University of Florence acted as the coordinator of a research project called 'La dimensione europea ed internazionale del diritto del lavoro: un laboratorio fiorentino di ricerca', launched by Professor Silvana Sciarra in collaboration with the Universities of Boston, Cambridge, Catania, Eichstatt Ingolstadt, EUI, Lyon II, Madrid Complutense, and Venezia....To date, it has given rise to several international collaborations. One of the sub-headings of the project dealt with labour market reforms in Member States of the EU, linked with the European employment strategy. Following a workshop held at the Law Faculty of the University of Cambridge on 16 and 17 March 2007 entitled 'Flexibility and Security in Temporary Work - A Comparative and European Debate', the topic selected by some members of the research group as a case study was 'Fixed Term Contracts'. The papers contained in this document reflect the approach adopted during the workshop. They focus on certain common legal features of fixed term contracts, but also rely on statistical figures where relevant. A 'model paper' was circulated in order to acquire homogeneous information from all of the countries involved in this project. The publication on-line of what should be considered as 'work in progress' is meant to stimulate comments and attract interest on a topic which is very central in current European discussions and will constitute the basis of a second stage of future research

Flexibility and Security in Temporary Work : A Comparative and European Debate

Document en accès libre sur le site "Archives of European Integration (AEI)" : http://aei.pitt.edu/13694/1/caruso_sciarra_n56%2D2007int.pdfInternational audiencePreface :The University of Florence acted as the coordinator of a research project called 'La dimensione europea ed internazionale del diritto del lavoro: un laboratorio fiorentino di ricerca', launched by Professor Silvana Sciarra in collaboration with the Universities of Boston, Cambridge, Catania, Eichstatt Ingolstadt, EUI, Lyon II, Madrid Complutense, and Venezia....To date, it has given rise to several international collaborations. One of the sub-headings of the project dealt with labour market reforms in Member States of the EU, linked with the European employment strategy. Following a workshop held at the Law Faculty of the University of Cambridge on 16 and 17 March 2007 entitled 'Flexibility and Security in Temporary Work - A Comparative and European Debate', the topic selected by some members of the research group as a case study was 'Fixed Term Contracts'. The papers contained in this document reflect the approach adopted during the workshop. They focus on certain common legal features of fixed term contracts, but also rely on statistical figures where relevant. A 'model paper' was circulated in order to acquire homogeneous information from all of the countries involved in this project. The publication on-line of what should be considered as 'work in progress' is meant to stimulate comments and attract interest on a topic which is very central in current European discussions and will constitute the basis of a second stage of future research

Flexibility and Security in Temporary Work : A Comparative and European Debate

Document en accès libre sur le site "Archives of European Integration (AEI)" : http://aei.pitt.edu/13694/1/caruso_sciarra_n56%2D2007int.pdfInternational audiencePreface :The University of Florence acted as the coordinator of a research project called 'La dimensione europea ed internazionale del diritto del lavoro: un laboratorio fiorentino di ricerca', launched by Professor Silvana Sciarra in collaboration with the Universities of Boston, Cambridge, Catania, Eichstatt Ingolstadt, EUI, Lyon II, Madrid Complutense, and Venezia....To date, it has given rise to several international collaborations. One of the sub-headings of the project dealt with labour market reforms in Member States of the EU, linked with the European employment strategy. Following a workshop held at the Law Faculty of the University of Cambridge on 16 and 17 March 2007 entitled 'Flexibility and Security in Temporary Work - A Comparative and European Debate', the topic selected by some members of the research group as a case study was 'Fixed Term Contracts'. The papers contained in this document reflect the approach adopted during the workshop. They focus on certain common legal features of fixed term contracts, but also rely on statistical figures where relevant. A 'model paper' was circulated in order to acquire homogeneous information from all of the countries involved in this project. The publication on-line of what should be considered as 'work in progress' is meant to stimulate comments and attract interest on a topic which is very central in current European discussions and will constitute the basis of a second stage of future research

Patient-reported outcomes in autosomal inherited bleeding disorders: A systematic literature review

Aim: Currently, it is unknown which patient-reported outcomes are important for patients with autosomal inherited bleeding disorders. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to systematically review the available literature assessing patient-reported outcomes and their measurement methods in autosomal inherited bleeding disorders. Methods: The Embase, Medline ALL, Web of Science Core Collection, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trails and Google Scholar databases were searched from inception until 14 August 2020. Studies on patient-reported outcomes in patients with von Willebrand disease, inherited platelet function disorders and coagulation factor deficiencies were included. Results: Twenty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. Three studies were assessed as having poor quality, and therefore a high risk of bias. Nineteen studies had fair quality rating. Different measurements methods were used, ranging from predefined to self-developed questionnaires. The majority of included studies focused on von Willebrand disease. Patients with von Willebrand disease reported lower health-related quality of life compared to the general population. Overall, this trend was especially visible in the following domains: vitality, physical and social functioning and pain. Women with inherited bleeding disorders scored lower on health-related quality of life compared to men, especially women with heavy menstrual bleeding. Patients with joint bleeds or heavy menstrual bleeding reported an increased level of pain. Conclusion: Patients with autosomal inherited bleeding disorders report lower health related quality of life, especially those with joint bleeds or heavy menstrual bleeding. Numerous measurement methods are used in patients with autosomal inherited bleeding disorders, highlighting the need for studies using established, standardized measurement methods

Defining the role of common variation in the genomic and biological architecture of adult human height

Using genome-wide data from 253,288 individuals, we identified 697 variants at genome-wide significance that together explained one-fifth of the heritability for adult height. By testing different numbers of variants in independent studies, we show that the most strongly associated ∼2,000, ∼3,700 and ∼9,500 SNPs explained ∼21%, ∼24% and ∼29% of phenotypic variance. Furthermore, all common variants together captured 60% of heritability. The 697 variants clustered in 423 loci were enriched for genes, pathways and tissue types known to be involved in growth and together implicated genes and pathways not highlighted in earlier efforts, such as signaling by fibroblast growth factors, WNT/β-catenin and chondroitin sulfate-related genes. We identified several genes and pathways not previously connected with human skeletal growth, including mTOR, osteoglycin and binding of hyaluronic acid. Our results indicate a genetic architecture for human height that is characterized by a very large but finite number (thousands) of causal variants