Flexibilizing the Termination of the Employment Contract: Pros and Cons

The changes in the Romanian Labour Code appear to be a way of implementing the concept of flexicurity in our system of law. And among all institutions changed by the new law, probably the one related to termination of employment has the most dramatic effect within labour relations and the very application of the principle of workers’ protection. Indeed, after eight years in force, the Labour Code has been changed, aiming at re-balancing the powers of the parties over the issue of the termination of the employment. These changes may lead to a new content of the concept of job security, and also to a new approach of the idea of career. The Government’s goal was to offer the possibility for the employers to dismiss and employ personnel more easily, allowing him/her to select best employees at a time of economic crisis. However, as a result of an analysis of how the flexicurity principles were applied in other states (especially in case of the new member states) one may be very much afraid that flexicurity cannot be obtained by just un-protect the employees and simplify the dismissal procedure. This is why the changes in the Labour Code, particularly with the intention to render more flexible the labour market and the contractual arrangements were received by trade unions, and by the entire society with deep concerns and skepticism. From the perspective of trade unions, if the implementation of the flexicurity concept seems to be successful in some of the European states, since it guarantees a certain level of protection, in Romania such a process would be disadvantageous for employees in terms of the special job stability they enjoyed. Flexicurity itself demands to be flexibly adapted – from case to case, from one state to another. One can even say that there are 27 ways of applying the concept of flexicurity within European Union... Which is the Romanian way, especially when it comes to the termination of the employment contract? The paper aims to put into light the advantages and disadvantages of the very recent changes in the Labour Code, and to configure a possible perspective in this regard.Labour law, employment contract, dismissal, flexicurity

The new challenges of hybrid working (part office, part home)

Although not expressly regulated hybrid work is a reality that cannot be fully encapsulated in the concept of telework. It has several advantages: it allows employees to freely choose where they work, while not losing contact with colleagues. For companies, hybrid working allows a reduction in utility costs and a downsizing of office space, while still being able to benefit from the direct presence of workers. Therefore, hybrid work is the expression of a compromise, which can indeed lead to work-life reconciliation, but it can also have a number of disadvantages. The latter mainly come from the lack of concern of the Romanian legislator for the category of workers who combine remote work with in-office work. The paper describes hybrid work from a legal point of view – at the intersection between willingness and reluctance

Responsibilities of the Origin State in the Protection of Migrant Workers. The Case of Romania

Beyond the responsibility that results from any labour relation, for the employer as well as for the worker, whenever migrant workers are concerned there is also a third party that may be directly or indirectly liable for the contract’s effects: the employee’s native State. This paper concentrates on the practical modality by which States fulfil this responsibility, with special consideration for the case of Romania. Based on the premise that responsibility for the migrating workers’ protection while employed in the destination country should be assumed by their country of origin, this paper analyses the domestic regulations regarding the protection of Romanian citizens’ who work abroad, and the way in which these latter respond to the realities confronted. One of the causes of illegal migration, among others, is identified as residing in the deficiencies of these regulations, particularly in their mode of application. The strong centralized and bureaucratic channels of access to work abroad are often circumvented, which frequently leads to dramatic consequences.Au-delà de la responsabilité qui résulte, pour l'employeur ainsi que pour le travailleur, de toute relation de travail, à chaque fois que des travailleurs migrants sont concernés, une tierce partie peut être directement ou indirectement impliquée : l’Etat d’origine de l’employé. Cet article se concentre sur les modalités pratiques par lesquelles les États s'acquittent de cette responsabilité, avec une attention particulière au cas de la Roumanie. S’appuyant sur la prémisse selon laquelle la responsabilité de la protection du migrant durant son activité à l’étranger devrait être assurée par son pays d’origine, l’analyse précise les réglementations nationales relatives à la protection des citoyens roumains qui travaillent à l'étranger, et la façon dont ce dernier répond à la réalité à laquelle il est confronté. L'une des causes de la migration illégale, résiderait notamment dans les lacunes de ces règlements, en particulier dans leur mode d'application. La forte centralisation bureaucratique et de l'accès limité au travail à l'étranger sont souvent contournées par les migrants, ce qui a souvent des conséquences dramatiques

Choosing between civil contract and employment contract

The requalification of the civil contract as an employment contract is the work of unlocking its true legal nature, thus removing the improper (or deliberately misleading) terms used by the parties and revealing the true understanding between them. The requalification can be performed by a fiscal control body, as representative of the third party – namely the state – damaged by the non-payment of contributions and fees, according to the true legal nature of the relationship between the parties. The requalification can be performed by a labour control body, which seeks to eliminate the risk of undeclared work and prevents the employer from abusing the worker. Or it can be carried out by the courts themselves, most often at the request of the worker, who seeks to open the way for the benefits deriving from the protective rules of labour law, inaccessible to the worker who concludes a mere civil contract. The current set of regulations on requalification of the employment contract is far from ideal. Therefore, a number of improvements to ensure coherence in the system would be welcome. The paper aims to identify the relation between the current rules in civil law, labour law, and fiscal law and to include some de lege ferenda proposals in order to make the Romanian legislation more prepared to fight against undeclared work, by still observing the parties right to freely contract

Capacity building for effective social dialogue in the European Union

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Oscar MolinaThe aim of this report is to add to the discussion on how Eurofound can contribute to supporting capacity building of social partners for effective social dialogue. The report includes a review by Eurofound aimed at identifying the capacity-building needs and initiatives of social partners in relation to national frameworks for autonomous collective bargaining, involvement in European social dialogue and the European Semester, and the development of membership and services for members. It also includes the results from stakeholder consultations and two exchange seminars held in 2019, along with a set of policy pointers for further discussion

Social partners going digital: using digital tools and adapting social dialogue processes

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Alejandro GodinoDigital transformation is changing the world of work. This report looks at how social partners - the actors involved in the regulation of employment relationships - are increasingly adopting technological solutions to improve the services that they provide to their members and facilitate collective bargaining processes. Technological tools offer social partners the opportunity to enhance consultation, engage with their members through digitised processes, improve services and increase networking activities, as well as addressing the issue of membership decline. The findings of this report show that the extent to which the social partners use digital technologies varies greatly across the EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom. Provisions in collective agreements on several aspects of digitalisation have been identified in about half of the countries. Through these provisions, social partners encourage their members to boost training on digital skills, ensure fair and safe working conditions and take account of data protection and employee monitoring practices. The European social partners' autonomous framework agreement on digitalisation has provided inspiration to national-level organisations, and follow-up actions in this regard have the potential to greatly benefit their members

Social partners going digital: using digital tools and adapting social dialogue processes

La xarxa de corresponsals d'Eurofound ha contribuït a aquest informe i en concret l'Alejandro Godino com així s'expressa a l'Annex 3: Network of Eurofound CorrespondentsDigital transformation is changing the world of work. This report looks at how social partners - the actors involved in the regulation of employment relationships - are increasingly adopting technological solutions to improve the services that they provide to their members and facilitate collective bargaining processes. Technological tools offer social partners the opportunity to enhance consultation, engage with their members through digitised processes, improve services and increase networking activities, as well as addressing the issue of membership decline. The findings of this report show that the extent to which the social partners use digital technologies varies greatly across the EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom. Provisions in collective agreements on several aspects of digitalisation have been identified in about half of the countries. Through these provisions, social partners encourage their members to boost training on digital skills, ensure fair and safe working conditions and take account of data protection and employee monitoring practices. The European social partners' autonomous framework agreement on digitalisation has provided inspiration to national-level organisations, and follow-up actions in this regard have the potential to greatly benefit their members

Seniority-based entitlements : extent, policy debates and research

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Oscar MolinaSeniority systems - schemes that allot improving employment rights or benefits to employees as their length of employment increases - have not been widely studied. This report provides the first comprehensive study comparing the design and spread of seniority-based entitlements (SBEs) in Europe and mapping related policy debates. It is primarily based on contributions from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents, covering the 28 EU Member States and Norway, but also presents aggregate seniority-earnings curves for the EU based on data from the Structure of Earnings Survey. The aim of the report is to take stock of the currently existing different types of SBEs in the private and public sectors. It concludes that despite an obvious trend to remove them from regulations or reform them, a substantial amount of such entitlements is here to stay. Paradoxically, countries which have regulations on seniority pay in place tend to have flatter aggregate seniority-earnings curves than countries without such regulations