WRITTEN QUESTION E-3387/01

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(7 December 2001)

Subject: Temporary employment agencies

Temporary work is an arrangement under which temporary employment agencies provide companies with workers to cover their short-term labour requirements. The worker is employed and paid by the agency, while the company pays the agency the worker's salary, plus a commission for the service which the agency performs.

Such jobs are intended to last for a short period, to save companies the trouble of having to employ someone on a permanent basis. However, some temporary contracts are in fact open-ended (which is clearly contrary to the definition of temporary work itself and runs counter to the need for a flexible labour market).

Temporary employment agencies often operate in more than one European country and provide mainly young people with job opportunities in foreign companies and multinationals, some of which involve interesting posts in foreign countries. Given the differences between the various countries in terms of social security systems, contractual standards, health and pension systems and the recognition of academic qualifications, how does the Commission intend to prevent this growing market from becoming too much of a good thing for agencies rather than a real opportunity for workers and companies?

Does it intend to propose the introduction of Community provisions to regulate the activities of this atypical type of employer, tighten up the controls on such agencies' activities already existing at national level and lay down minimum safety standards to protect workers?

Does it intend to place a limit on the number of workers each agency may have on its books at any one time?

Does it intend to ensure that proper checks are run on the training and further training programmes which agencies must organise for workers, using the 4 % of wages which in Italy at least must be set aside for specific initiatives?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 2002)

Temporary work is an employment model which has been growing rapidly in Europe for the last ten years. It may be described as a three-way relationship between a worker, a company acting as a temporary employment agency and a user company. The agency, which is generally the employer, makes this worker available to the user company to work there under its supervision for a fixed period. In principle, all social legislation applies also to temporary work.

In light of the development of this new employment relationship, the Commission has introduced various legislative initiatives since 1982 in order to regulate these practices. To date, only one of these initiatives has come to something, with the adoption in 1991 of the Directive on the health and safety of temporary workers(1).

The latest attempt to regulate temporary work was very recent: following consultations with the Commission, the social partners at European level held negotiations on this issue from May 2000 to May 2001. Unfortunately, at the end of the period allocated, the social partners had to concede that they were unable to reach an agreement.

(1) Council Directive 91/383/EEC of 25 June 1991 supplementing the measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of workers with a fixed-duration employment relationship or a temporary employment relationship OJ L 206, 29.7.1991.