The Commission published its proposal for a Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU. The revision follows a REFIT evaluation that aims to make EU law simpler. Ceemet expected a modernised EU Directive which would remove red tape and increase transparency. Unfortunately the opposite is true.

• The definition of a worker proposed in article 2 of the Directive interferes with the Member States’ discretion to decide whether a person is considered to be an employee or a self-employed person, which not only has a far-going impact on the labour legislation but also on the social security legislation and the taxation law. This is in serious breach of the EU’s competences in the field of social policy.
• The definition of a worker as it is currently on the table is very broad and extensive. People, who are usually qualified byt the national labour law of a Member State as a self-employed person, such as for example freelancers, may now be requalified as an employee. This will create huge legal uncertainty for employees, self-employed poeeple and companies.
• Defining an employer as a persin who is indrectly party to an employment relationship with a worker is very unclear and will create legal uncertainty for both employers and employees.
• The proposal contains numerous elements which create additional administrative burden and increasing costs for companies, regrettably even more so for SMEs. This completely goes against the aim of the REFIT evaluation.
• By introducing new minimum rights, the revision of the Written Statement Directive is used as a backdoor to introduce a pillar of employees’ rights. The introduction of these rights goes against the principle of subsidiarity and largely oversteps the EU’s competences.