Scope

Evaluation of the Directive 91/533/EC on an employer's obligation to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the contract or employment relationship.

Evaluation findings

The evaluation results show that the Directive has been effective in achieving its objectives to some extent. However, it appears that many workers in the EU do not receive a written confirmation of their working conditions or do not receive all the information they would need in a timely manner. The Directive's effectiveness is hampered by several factors: gaps in the personal scope of the Directive (e.g. domestic workers or some new forms of employment); gaps in the 'information package' to be notified; issues of enforcement of the Directive, notably as to means of redress in case of non-compliance.

The findings of the evaluation show that the notification of a written statement to employees is not a disproportionate burden compared to the benefits it brings, e.g. legal certainty for both sides and less litigations. Representatives of small businesses were generally not in favour of any derogation for small and medium sized enterprises or micro-enterprises. They rather stressed the importance of designing well-conceived, simple EU legislation with the needs of all types of business in mind from the start.

Overall, the study showed no strong need for simplifications of the Directive with a view to reducing the administrative burdens. There may however be scope for simplification by confirming that companies are allowed to provide the information in a secured and authenticated electronic format.

Estimated savings and benefits

The evaluation of the Written Statement Directive found that for the majority of employers the costs of providing the required written information to employees was assessed to be neither high nor low. The total administrative cost per employed person for a business to comply with the Directive ranges from €25 to €57 annually, depending on the size of the company. Employers do not consider it particularly burdensome, and most indicate that they would continue to provide the written statement even without a legal obligation. It was not considered as a burden but rather as part of normal business activities.

Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The initiative aimed at increasing the transparency and legal predictability of employment contracts by improving the basic right of all EU workers to receive a written confirmation of working conditions as well as the adoption of new basic rights. The clarification of the scope of the Directive (which currently leads to many ambiguities) was intended to make the regulatory framework clearer and more predictable.

Outcome of Legislative Procedure

The adopted Directive is a direct follow-up to the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. It will increase the transparency and legal predictability of employment contracts as well as set new rights for all workers, particularly addressing insufficient protection for workers in more precarious jobs, while limiting burdens on employers and maintaining labour market adaptability.

Estimated savings and benefits

In comparison to the original Commission proposal, the final text of the Directive agreed by the co-legislator contains some modifications increasing administrative burden and costs on companies. The final wording concerning scope is somewhat less ambitious than that proposed by the Commission, potentially reducing some of the benefits of a clearly defined scope.

Costs / reductions of savings of these modifications have not been quantified.