At the core of the discussion and exchange of experiences of the first workshop of this new series was transparency (i.e., access to information and simplification) which is the fourth dimension addressed by the 2019 Council Recommendation.  

The workshop focused on three main areas of discussion:

• The contribution of digital tools in the provision of information.
• The simplification in the application process/ receipt of social protection.
• Measures specifically aimed at non-standard workers and the self-employed. 

Background  

Transparency is crucial to guaranteeing access to social protection for workers and the self-employed. People may be insufficiently aware of their rights and obligations, and of the different ways of exercising those rights and complying with their obligations. The rules may be too complex or not sufficiently clear. This can discourage participation in social protection schemes and contribute to low take-up rate for some social benefits.  

Self-employed people and people in non-standard forms of work may be particularly affected because they are often subject to specific rules and more complex procedures. 

In the Council Recommendation, the provisions related to transparency cover two main aspects:  

• on the one hand it recommends that Member States ensure that ‘the conditions and rules for all social protection schemes are transparent’ and that ‘individuals have access to updated, comprehensive, accessible, user-friendly and clearly understandable information’ (para 15). 

• on the other hand, it recommends that they ‘simplify, where necessary, the administrative requirements of social protection schemes’ (para 16).