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

Ensuring business continuity and support for essential services

Cases in this category are aimed at ensuring that essential services obtain the required workforce and can continue to function smoothly. This includes, for instance, health and care-related services, agriculture, production of goods, information technology and transport services. Such support could relate to the provision of specific or general labour market information, the mobilisation of a larger workforce, for instance through recruitment campaigns, setting incentives or easing restrictions for those currently not in work or employment, as well as faster skills recognition. It could also take the form of mandatory measures such as the temporary prohibition to take leave or the extension of maximum working time and new rota schemes. It also includes measures ensuring the smooth and speedy reallocation or redeployment of workers across industries, or between and within companies, and gathers cases on rewards for workers in essential services.

Overall, Eurofound has identified 113 measures in 28 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.