SURE: EU support to national short-term working schemes and its openness to non-standard workers

In response to the labour market effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union (EU) implemented ‘Temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency' (SURE). This instrument enables loans to be made under favourable conditions from the EU to affected Member States, covering part of their costs for national short-time work (STW) schemes or similar policies. In essence, STW prevents unemployment by helping employers to temporarily reduce the working hours of their personnel, while providing these employees with income support from the state for the hours not worked. During the COVID-19 crisis, non-standard workers in particular experienced job loss or a reduction of working hours, while often having inadequate access to social security. This article assesses the inclusiveness of SURE in terms of providing, via national STW, support to all workers. Firstly, it explores the options provided by the SURE Regulation to finance STW schemes which also cover non-standard workers. Secondly, it gives an EU-wide overview of which schemes and which types of workers have been supported. Thirdly, the paper analyses in detail how three Member States – Belgium, Cyprus and Poland – have used SURE to support non-standard and self-employed workers. The article adds to the currently scarce analyses on how SURE is used by countries with various STW systems. Moreover, it shows whether SURE may fit the growing EU focus on providing access to social security for all types of workers irrespective of their employment relationship, as for instance codified in the EU Pillar of Social Rights. © The Author(s) 2023.

Effects of Spatial Characteristics on Non-Standard Employment for Canada's Immigrant Population

Using microdata from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Population Census, this paper explores how spatial characteristics are correlated with temporary employment outcomes for Canada's immigrant population. Results from ordinary least square regression models suggest that census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (CMAs/CAs) characterized by a high share of racialized immigrants, immigrants in low-income, young, aged immigrants, unemployed immigrants, and immigrants employed in health and service occupations were positively associated with an increase in temporary employment for immigrants. Furthermore, findings from principal component regression models revealed that a combination of spatial characteristics, namely CMAs/CAs characterized by both a high share of unemployed immigrants and immigrants in poverty, had a greater likelihood of immigrants being employed temporarily. The significance of this study lies in the spatial conceptualization of temporary employment for immigrants that could better inform spatially targeted employment policies, especially in the wake of the structural shift in the nature of work brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Precarity Encounters COVID-19: A Critical Analysis of Korean Policy Responses

In the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea was considered a successful case of containment of infection. However, the employment protection response has not been as successful as the health response. Although the Korean Government has taken unprecedented fiscal measures, the hardest-hit groups including workers in non-standard employment are still least protected. The pandemic has found countries with widespread precarious employment at their most vulnerable. Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Government has promoted the deregulation of capital and the flexibilization of labour, with precarious work becoming ‘normal'. COVID-19 shows that workers excluded from labour protection before the crisis are the most vulnerable in the current crisis. Dependent contractors are not protected from termination of contract or loss of income, while employees in a comparable situation may be supported by job retention schemes and unemployment benefits. This means employers using dependent contractors can avoid employer liability in a normal situation as well as in times of crisis. While the Government attempts to expand unemployment insurance to certain groups of dependent contractors, debates over who should bear the financial burden are underway. Employers refuse to contribute to unemployment insurance for dependent contractors, arguing that they are not the employers of these workers. This article analyses how flexibilization in Korea has affected vulnerability and the segmentation of labour protection. It argues that the ‘protection gap' among workers resulted from political choices and the strategy of capital to transfer cost-and-risks onto workers and society as a whole. These pre-pandemic political choices undermine the chances of a fair recovery. This article argues that establishing employer responsibility is essential for a humancentred recovery. © 2022 Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

Non-Standard Employment and Unemployment during the COVID-19 Crisis: Economic and Health Findings from a Six-Country Survey Study.

The COVID-19 crisis is a global event that has created and amplified social inequalities, including an already existing and steadily increasing problem of employment and income insecurity and erosion of workplace rights, affecting workers globally. The aim of this exploratory study was to review employment-related determinants of health and health protection during the pandemic, or more specifically, to examine several links between non-standard employment, unemployment, economic, health, and safety outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the United States, and Chile, based on an online survey conducted from November 2020 to June 2021. The study focused on both non-standard workers and unemployed workers and examined worker outcomes in the context of current type and duration of employment arrangements, as well as employment transitions triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. The results suggest that COVID-19-related changes in non-standard worker employment arrangements, or unemployment, are related to changes in work hours, income, and benefits, as well as the self-reported prevalence of suffering from severe to extreme anxiety or depression. The results also suggest a link between worker type, duration of employment arrangements, or unemployment, and the ability to cover regular expenses during the pandemic. Additionally, the findings indicate that the type and duration of employment arrangements are related to the provision of personal protective equipment or other COVID-19 protection measures. This study provides additional evidence that workers in non-standard employment and the unemployed have experienced numerous and complex adverse effects of the pandemic and require additional protection through tailored pandemic responses and recovery strategies.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working students: Results from the Labour Force Survey and the student lifestyle survey.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused devastating damage to employment globally, particularly among the non-standard workforce. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of the pandemic on the employment status and lives of working students in Japan. METHODS: The Labour Force Survey (January 2019 to May 2020) was used to examine changes in students' work situations. In addition, to investigate the economic and health conditions of university students during the pandemic, the Student Lifestyle Survey was conducted in late May 2020. This survey asked students at a national university in Tokyo about recent changes in their studies, work, and lives. RESULTS: The number of working students reported in the Labour Force Survey has declined sharply since March 2020, falling by 780,000 (46%) in April. According to a survey of university students' living conditions, 37% were concerned about living expenses and tuition fees, and a higher percentage of students who were aware of financial insecurity had poor self-rated health. CONCLUSION: Nearly half of working students have lost their jobs during the pandemic in Japan, which has affected their lives, studies, and health. There is a need to monitor the impact of economic insecurity on students' studies and health over time, and to expand the safety net for disadvantaged students.