Does employment status matter for job quality?

Across the EU, on average 66% of the workforce holds a permanent contract and enjoys the most favourable standards of job quality. But for those in non-standard forms of employment, is job status negatively impacting job quality?

The short answer is yes. However, the precise type of contract and different national regimes also affect job quality.

This latest policy brief on Eurofound on employment status and job quality compares the working conditions of five non-standard employment statuses - long-term temporary employees, short-term temporary employees, economically dependent solo self-employed, independent solo self-employed and employer - to permanent employee status and part-time status to full-time. It also explores differences across the EU28, clustered into five country different country groupings.

What becomes clear is that holders of temporary contracts are particularly likely to have poorer job quality with regard to access to training, scope to act autonomously, job security and prospects for career advancement. Those on short-term temporary contracts especially are worse off in all dimensions but work intensity. This is the case in all Member States, but strikingly so in the group of Ireland and the UK. Both policymakers and employers need to address these differences in order to eliminate any obstacles that may hinder equal opportunities in the workplace.

Read the full policy brief here.