Social Agenda Issue 53 - EN

SOC I A L AG E NDA / J U LY 2 0 1 7 / 2 1 effective social protection. As workers’ careers become less linear, the transparency of entitlements become more important in order to ensure comprehensive coverage. Several Member States have already addressed coverage gaps. And in March 2018, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a Recommendation on access to social protection which should bring about a comprehensive and systematic improvement in this respect, throughout the EU (see box). Meanwhile, new developments have sparked renewed debates about last resort safety nets and benefit conditionality, including means-testing, universal benefits or job-search requirements. Sustainability Changes in the world of work will have major implications for the financing and sustainability of social protection. In many EU countries, employers’ and workers’ social contributions remain an important source of funding for social protection systems, even if general government contributions constitute a growing share of this funding. However, this contribution base is expected to shrink, due to population ageing. And where new forms of work do not generate sufficient receipts for social protection, ensuring the sustainability of social protection is all the more challenging. The review suggests exploring several routes: Ensuring that all forms of work contribute to social protection; giving more importance to revenue from sources other than labour; and investing in people. Non-standard and self- employed workers Almost 40% of people employed in the EU are either non-standard (not working under a full-time, open-ended contract) or self-employed workers. In practice, many of these people do not enjoy a decent social protection. Taking its cue from the European Pillar of Social Rights, the European Commission suggests closing the legal social protection coverage gaps and ensuring that all workers and the self-employed can adhere to corresponding social security systems. In those countries where the law does give people in non- standard forms of work access to social protection, these people should effectively be covered, so that they may build up and claim adequate entitlements. This would allow them to uphold their standard of living and prevent them from falling into poverty. EU countries should also provide the people concerned with transparent information about their social security entitlements and obligations. More information: https://europa.eu/ !kc43xm Moving from the machinery to the chemical sector: workers that are displaced by new technologies may require support via income replacement benefits or retraining. © Belga Image SOC I A L AG E NDA / NOV E MB E R 8