European Foundation
for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions

The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist
in the development of better social, employment and
work-related policies

COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch

Database of national-level responses

Eurofound's COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the crisis, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.

Overview of measures by category

Employment protection and retention

Cases in this category mainly relate to measures which ensure that employment is protected and maintained, at least in the short- to medium term through re-regulating temporary dismissals. It includes employment protection schemes for workers, such as short-time work, partial unemployment or other wage subsidy schemes, changes to dismissal and employment protection legislation, adaptations of working time arrangements, and measures to promote the employability of the workforce in downtimes. It also includes examples of collective agreements which aim at protecting and retaining employment, as well as some selected company examples on how such schemes are applied.

Overall, Eurofound has identified 72 measures in 27 countries for this category.

Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process. All information is preliminary and subject to change.