Multiparty work relationships across Europe: A comparative overview

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the growing labour law discussion on Multiparty Work Relationships (MWRs), a term used to refer to temporary agency work, subcontracting, franchising and all other working arrangements in which the traditional bipartite structure is complicated by the presence of one or more intermediaries.

Based on a large-scale comparative study which involved the participation of national experts from 30 European countries, the article seeks to shed light on MWRs across Europe, developing a tripartite classification of the various types of MWRs that can be found across Europe. On the basis of this classification, it provides a comparative overview of the extent to which these relationships are regulated and captured by national and EU labour law, presenting some specific domestic reactions to the problems emerging from the proliferation of these contractual arrangements.