Annualised Hours Contracts: The Way Forward in Labour Market Flexibility?

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 ◽  
pp. 64-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N.F. Bell ◽  
Robert A. Hart
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Work Organisation ◽  
Service Demand ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility ◽  
British Labour ◽  
The Way

Under annualised hours' contracts (AHCs), workers and management agree to the length and scheduling of working hours over a 12-month period. Such contracts have been widely seen as a potentially important way of achieving greater labour market flexibility and enhanced efficiency in work organisation. There exists very little empirical work on these contracts and this study is intended to provide insights into their British labour market role and potential. Especially for workers who are not in management or a profession, the costs of switching to AHCs are substantial. The enterprises that are likely to gain from the switch are those that (a) experience significant fluctuations in output/service demand and (b) desire to utilise plant and space more intensively over the calendar year. In this latter respect, plants incorporating complex shift operations are particularly associated with AHCs.

scholarly journals The floor of rights in European labour law

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Deakin
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility ◽  
European Labour Law ◽  
The Way

Most European countries have legislated to provide a basic floor of rights which underpins collective bargaining. This article reviews the experiences of the major European countries and examines the way that the floor of rights is being extended. It also discusses the floor of rights in the context of the search for labour market flexibility.

scholarly journals Labour market flexibility and FDI attraction: A macroeconomic analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 30-30
Author(s):  
Pedro Oliveira ◽  
Rosa Forte
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Mode Of Entry ◽  
Macroeconomic Analysis ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility

Foreign direct investment is one mode of entry into international markets that can provide important benefits to host economies. For this reason, policymakers have sought to apply policies that attract foreign direct investment. Although there is extensive and relevant literature that explores the determinants of foreign direct investment, few studies exist that focus on the relationship between labour market flexibility and foreign direct investment; furthermore, most of these are firm-level studies and use old data. Thus, this study aims to analyze the influence of labour market flexibility on foreign direct investment based on macroeconomic data for a set of 180 countries and a relatively recent period of analysis (2004-2009). Using econometric techniques with panel data, the results show that labour market flexibility enhances the attraction of foreign direct investment. In particular, the rigidity of working hours is the dimension of labour market regulations that most negatively affects the attraction of foreign direct investment. Based on the control variables used, we found that the economic and financial incentives, trade barriers, the growth and the size of the market and the level of human capital are important determinants in the explanation of foreign direct investment patterns.

Labour market flexibility in Japan: 1960–2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 115-143
Author(s):  
Makoto Masui ◽  
◽  
Paweł Młodkowski ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility

Party System

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaad Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Market Reforms ◽  
Intermediate Variable ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility ◽  
Labour Market Reforms ◽  
The Impact

The chapter discusses the party system in the macro context of politics. It highlights the limitations of political party and interest group analysis without reference to the political competition that shapes behaviour in politics. The chapter discusses theoretically the impact of party system on labour market flexibility and proceeds to show the interrelation between party competition and the behaviour of political parties, composition of socio-economic support bases, and the behaviour of interest groups that influence reform. In the context of labour market flexibility, the party-system operates as an intermediate variable facilitating reforms. The chapter contradicts the conventional notion that party system fragmentation impedes reform by showing how increasing party competition corresponds to greater labour market reforms. It shows that increases in the number of parties, facilitates labour market reforms through marginalization of the issue of labour, realignment of class interests within broader society and fragmentation of trade union movement.

scholarly journals Introduction to the special issue: multiple jobholding in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-147
Author(s):  
Wieteke Conen ◽  
Karin Schulze Buschoff
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Clear Trend ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility ◽  
Employment Situation ◽  
Over Time

In a number of European countries there is a clear trend towards increased multiple jobholding. As things stand, however, little is known about the structure and the potential consequences of this increase, notably in terms of quality of work and social protection. This special issue focuses on contemporary forms of multiple jobholding in Europe. Have the structure, nature and dynamics of multiple jobholding changed over time? What are the roles of labour market flexibility, technological change and work fragmentation in the development of multiple jobholding? And do multiple jobholders benefit from similar and adequate employment terms, conditions and protections compared with single jobholders, or are they worse off as a consequence of their (fragmented) employment situation? What implications do these findings have for unions, policy-makers and the regulation of work? The collection of articles in this special issue adds to the literature on emerging forms of employment in the digital age and challenges for social protection, also in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This introduction initiates a discussion of central debates on multiple jobholding and presents a synopsis of the articles in this issue.

Changing labour market flexibility in the European union

2002 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Pentecost ◽  
John G. Sessions
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility

From work sharing to temporal flexibility : working time policy in Belgium 1975-1990

Res Publica ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-51
Author(s):  
Jens Bastian
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Working Time ◽  
Market Effects ◽  
Work Sharing ◽  
Temporal Flexibility

The article focuses on working time policies introduced in Belgium during the period 1975-1990. As a country with early mass-unemployment, the magnitude of the unfolding Labour market problems fostered a specific set of responsive strategies. The initial trajectory of Belgian working time policies was centered around cutting standard weekly working hours in order to enhance Labour market effects. In the course of a marked issue transformation, work sharing objectives were substituted by the notion of temporal flexibility which focused primarily on concerns for and changes in the economie performance of individual firms. The author outlines various structural features of the Belgian socio-economic system and argues that these profoundly affected the goals identified with working time policies as much as the actor constellations endorsing the respective measures.

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