The European Commission announces that August 1 was the deadline by which EU member countries were obliged to transpose the Directive on the transparency and predictability of working conditions into national legislation.
According to an EC statement, the directive provides for an extension and update of the labor rights and protection enjoyed by the 182 million workers in the EU.
Thus, EU workers will benefit from more complete information on the essential aspects of their work, communicated quickly and in writing, from a limitation of the duration of the trial period from the beginning of an employment contract, which will not be able to exceed six months, and of the possibility to exercise in parallel another professional activity for another employer; any restrictions of this right must be justified by objective reasons.
What should EU employees get?
Workers will also benefit from being notified in advance, within a reasonable time, of the reference hours and days when the work will have to be performed, especially for workers with unpredictable work schedules and in the case of on-demand work, they will could receive a written response to a request for transfer to another safer job and benefit from free mandatory job-related training that the employer must provide.
An estimated 2-3 million additional workers in precarious and atypical forms of work, including part-time, temporary and on-demand work, will now benefit from the right to information about their working conditions and a new protection, such as the right to greater predictability of their working time.
An assessment is to be carried out
“The directive on transparency and predictability of working conditions is a direct response to the rapid evolution of our labor markets. Workers have the right to more complete information about employment conditions and greater predictability in their daily lives. The new rules will help guarantee quality jobs, provide some stability for workers and allow them to plan their lives,” said Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights.
The EC announces that, in the coming period, it will assess the compliance of the national measures notified by each Member State and take action if necessary.