Introduction A good decade ago, Transnational Company Agreements (TCAs) were a hot topic in Europe. In the broader context of globalisation, they were hailed as an interesting step forward in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), nowadays called Corporate Sustainability. However, since 2016 discussions about TCAs faded and ever since it seems as if…
Formally adopted by the Council of the EU in May 2024, the AI Act[1] aims to enhance the competitiveness of the Single Market, while ensuring the protection of health, safety, and fundamental rights. This comprehensive regulation impacts a wide range of stakeholders including manufacturers, deployers,[2] providers of AI models and systems, who must inventory their…
Introduction Anyone who comes in contact with the European Union (EU) legislative process will have noticed the EU and its Member States shifting into high gear to improve sustainability in their global value chains. The prime example is the recent hard-fought battle for the adoption of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), which was…
The need for protections beyond the contractual status The proposal for a directive “on improving working conditions in platform work”[1] is part of a broad reformist design, aimed at balancing the needs for competitiveness in the digital economy with the protection of fundamental rights. There are many interconnected legislative tracks, including the marketing and use…
“Hardening” process of Due Diligence The proposal for an EU directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (Brussels, 23.2.2022, COM(2022) 71 final) aims to impose sustainable production models on multinationals along the supply chains. A provisional agreement was reached on 15 March 2024. The proposal represents the culmination of a regulatory process of Corporate Social Responsibility…
Background The proposed EU directive on improving working conditions in platform work is the first legislative initiative that attempts to regulate the use of AI, in the form of algorithmic management, in the workplace. This innovative legislative proposal pursues a double goal: first, correcting the employment status of people working in digital labour platforms and…
Introduction Knowing the applicable legislation for social security matters is crucial for workers engaging in cross-border activities within the European Union. For individuals who reside and work within the same country, determining the correct solution is relatively simple – the person will fall under the legislation of the State of residence. However, for individuals engaged…
Considering “privacy@work” In their article of 1890, Warren and Brandeis wrote of a “right to be let alone”. Nowadays, the right to privacy has become a fundamental right, recognised in many international human rights instruments (including Article 12 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and…
The inclusion of persons with a disability has always been a sensitive issue in the mechanisms of protection and (equal) access in the labor market. Due to allegedly reduced performance, persons with a disability are often considered “second-class workers” (rather than resources) and, as a result, they have been relegated to tasks of secondary importance…
Unraveling the big picture Nowadays, a deviation from full-time, permanent jobs with one single employer– so-called standard employment- represents an important work reality. Within this reality, a sheer diversity of work typologies have proliferated, with the most well-known examples being fixed-term, part-time, and temporary agency work. In addition, other less typical forms of non-standard work…
