Regulation of temporary and part-time employment and reasons for using them

Abstract

This chapter assembles information on the regulation of non-standard employment in the countries under analysis and provides some insights into possible reasons for taking up or making use of temporary contracts or part-time employment. Among young women and men, part-time work allows a combination of studies and work; for dual employment couples or for lone parents it constitutes a possibility to combine employment and care work; for the elderly, it is often used as a phased alternative to early retirement. Important determining factors for the labour market participation of parents — especially mothers — and their decision to take either full-time or part-time employment are availability and cost of child-care facilities, parental leave arrangements and, in the case of married couples, tax policies. The extent of part-time employment is also likely to be influenced by its regulation in national, as well as in international law. Booth et al. (2002a: 182) describe three important functions of temporary employment: expanded screening of young employees without sufficient work records (probation periods), replacement of permanent workers on leave and cost reduction through a firm’s possibility to adapt to changes more easily. The pre-eminence of one or the other form of temporary contracts and the extent of temporary employment depends on the degree of regulation in the different countries. Regulation of temporary contracts is heavily influenced by the strictness of employment protection legislation.