The blurring of employment boundaries: A social economy perspective

Abstract

The boom in freelance workers and ‘atypical’ workers is the outcome of many different factors and has numerous implications. Throughout Europe, differing regulatory frameworks are resulting in similar difficulties for those seeking a balance between freedom to development of economic activity and access to social protection. Irrespective of the social status adopted by freelance workers or the contractual situation in the grey area of employment, the difficulties observed by SMart are: irregular, low income; legal and administrative complexity; work opportunities; tight cash flow; and difficulties in gaining access to training and social protection. While SMart addresses a number of issues, improved understanding and representation of these workers at the political level is necessary to provide them with real access to social protection. This article addresses the issue of the diversification of contractual forms of employment and the problem of demarcation between employment statuses. It reflects the view of a social enterprise, SMart, which supports independent or freelance workers. The article begins by looking at the various factors (economic, societal, political and regulatory) which have led to the reduction in employment, and then goes on to describe various forms of employment. There is a particular focus on independent workers and what access they really have to social protection. The main difficulties faced by this type of worker are examined in detail in order to identify possible approaches for including them in social protection mechanisms.