Policy implications Policymakers should address the risk of the gradual disappearance of the physical workplace, and with it of the notion of choice in relation to remote working. As segments of the workforce return to the workplace, employers should ensure the continuity of countermeasures to... Find out more

The economic and social crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe and around the world is without precedent since World War II if not before. With more than 40 million known cases in Europe in one year, and over 900 000 deaths (March 2020 to March 2021), governments have stepped up their... Find out more

Policy implications Tackling precarious work is essential for a fair Covid‑19 recovery and healthier future of work. The Covid‑19 crisis is worsening existing inequalities in the world of work. The European Commission should embed the principle of equity into the country‑specific recommendations of... Find out more

With work a key vector of Covid‑19 transmission, this report examines why it is critical that occupational health and safety measures take centre stage in mitigation policies. Workers in sectors declared essential by state authorities have been mandated to continue working in physical settings... Find out more

This working paper identifies some key areas of policy intervention for advancing socially sustainable and fair solutions for freelancers working in the creative industries, who are among those have suffered the most from the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, the authors... Find out more

The lockdown and other restrictive measures introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic recession have had a strong impact on labour markets worldwide. As far as the European Union (EU) is concerned, the accelerated fall in total employment was the ‘sharpest decline ever... Find out more

Pension policy is not safe from the potentially dramatic consequences of the pandemic. But in terms of pension politics, the pandemic also represents a window of opportunity to rethink the political debate on the future reform agenda. The present policy brief sheds light on the short- and long-term... Find out more

This issue of the SEER Journal for Labour and Social Affairs in Eastern Europe for 2020 focuses on EU-western Balkans relations at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a particular insights to the policy approaches in Croatia and Turkey. In terms of the number of cases per capita, western Balkans... Find out more

This paper analyses the economic policy-making in the first phase of the epidemic in five Central Europe countries, Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, whose economic structure is characterized by strong export orientation. The focus is on the participatory character of the governments... Find out more

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that highly mobile workers who frequently move either within or in and out of the European Union (EU) are irreplaceable during a public health crisis. Nevertheless, they often remain the least protected and most vulnerable. Measures introduced to protect workers in... Find out more