What if the purpose of social law was to ensure that workers’ needs are met? Some lessons from the regulation of zero-hour contracts in three European countries

Abstract

This article concludes the recent special issue of the ELLJ devoted to zero-hours contracts (ZHC), edited by E. Dermine and A. Mechelynck. It draws some cross-cutting conclusions based on the analysis of the four national contributions. Two major issues are examined in turn. First, the author looks back at the contrasting attitude that different national authorities have taken towards the use of ZHCs. She describes how these practices have been differently defined and legally framed and identifies the main debated issues. After acknowledging that no legal system has completely banned ZHCs, the article asks whether specific mechanisms adopted to mitigate the negative consequences of ZHCs are effective. This second inquiry is framed within a normative framework inspired by the work of Maslow. It invites us to refocus the legal debate on the fundamental objective of meeting the most basic needs of ZHC workers.