BEU, Alm.del - 2017-18 - Bilag 258: Udtalelse fra det østrigske forbundsråd vedr. direktivforslaget gennemsigtige og forudsigelige arbejdsvilkår i EU

Beskæftigelsesudvalget 2017-18
BEU Alm.del Bilag 258
Offentligt

COMMUNICATION

from the European Affairs Committee of the Federal Council

to the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament

pursuant to Article 23f para. 4 of the Austrian Constitution

4 April 2018

COM (2017) 797 final

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on transparent and

predictable working conditions in the European Union

This proposal for a Directive was published by the Commission on 21 December 2017. As the

employer’s obligation to inform employees of the conditions applicable to their contract or

employment relationship have changed significantly, the Commission considered it appropriate to

table this proposal. According to information available to the Commission, a growing trend towards

“non-standard” forms of employment was observed in 2016. This development has been facilitated

by digitalization, demographic change and other issues. The Member States therefore adapted some

of their legal regulations to the changing realities of the world of work, which led to an increasingly

complex and diverse regulatory system across the EU. The objective of the proposed Directive is to

ensure improved access for employees to information regarding their working conditions,

fundamental improvements in working conditions, and greater transparency in the labour market.

The Federal Council wishes to comment on a number of issues, especially those underlined in the

joint opinion submitted by the liaison office of the Austrian federal provinces. In principle, the scope

of the Directive, as proposed in Article 2, should be narrowed down. According to the proposal in its

current version, the Directive would also apply to self-employed workers, which would constitute a

far-reaching interference with the respective national legal system. Numerous new obligations to

provide information as well as minimum information requirements are being introduced, the

usefulness of which appears to be questionable. According to the proposed Directive (Article 3), the

employer has to provide the employee with a written statement outlining his/her working conditions

on the first day of the employment relationship. The previously allowed deadline of two months was

eliminated, which deprives the national legislator entirely of its latitude for action at national level.

Moreover, modifications to the working conditions notified must be transmitted at the latest on the

BEU, Alm.del - 2017-18 - Bilag 258: Udtalelse fra det østrigske forbundsråd vedr. direktivforslaget gennemsigtige og forudsigelige arbejdsvilkår i EU - COM (2017) 797

day they take effect. In the Federal Council’s opinion, this provision is highly restrictive on the

Member States and results in a higher administrative burden. The obligatory reversal of the burden

of proof to the detriment of the employer may appear, at first sight, to improve the situation of

employees, but does in no way take national conditions into account. The possibility of a more

flexible solution should at least be provided for. Given the well-functioning system of social

partnership in Austria, greater flexibility in respect of the issue of the burden of proof would be

essential.

The horizontal provision of Article 13, according to which Member States have to ensure that the

necessary amendments are made to individual and collective agreements and other arrangements in

order to align them to the provisions of the proposed Directive, runs counter to common practice

and is therefore not acceptable.