European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
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Following the harmonisation of both blue-collar and white-collar status (in 2014), all workers are allowed to be absent once or twice a week (for a maximum number of hours corresponding to the hours usually worked in one day) during the notice period in order to look for a new job. In this case, the workers are entitled to their salary for the unworked period.
The general rule sets that workers may be absent half a day per week during the notice period. The permitted period of absence is extended to one day or two half days per week in some cases:
For part-time workers, the right to be absent for job search is granted in proportion to the number of hours worked.
Eurofound (2015), Belgium: Time off for job search, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/time-off-for-job-search/belgium
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
