Four new Flash Reports prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) are now available and provide information on recent social policy developments in Austria, Finland, Ireland and Portugal.

© Pixabay

• At the end of March 2021, the Austrian parliament passed the Home Office Act. This new regulation provides for greater legal certainty for employees working from home. In addition, it contains new specific regulations in the areas of labour law, social insurance and tax rules.
   
• In Finland, a draft government bill for family leave reform was published on 16 February 2021 and circulated to stakeholders for comments. The final bill will be presented to the Parliament this autumn, and should be in force by August 2022. The aims of the reform are to increase gender equality and equality between different household configurations in using family leave and taking up caring responsibilities, and to narrow the gender pay gap.
   
• Ireland is planning a major reform of its system of “direct provision” which places asylum seekers in segregated accommodation and accords them limited or no social rights. People currently spend two years on average in this system, waiting for their cases to be processed. Plans announced in a White Paper on 26 February 2021 will reform this 20-year-old system by December 2024. The orientation of the system will be changed to better reflect principles of integration and support. These are welcome changes. They have been criticised, however, for not going far enough, especially in terms of speed of roll-out and instituting the changes on a statutory and rights basis.
   
• The Portuguese government is preparing a labour legal framework for platform workers. The framework is expected to provide platform workers with basic rights and increased social protection. The proposal was submitted to the social partners on 31 March 2021. There seems to be political consensus on the proposal which meets the demands of national and international institutions.

The ESPN Flash Reports reflect the views only of the authors, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information they contain.