Less than adequate: regulating temporary agency work in the EU in the face of an internal market in services

Abstract

This article analyzes the Directive on Temporary Agency Work (2008) in the face of a new internal market in services in the European Union. I argue that the adoption of this Directive is paradoxical: on the one hand, it breaks the lengthy stalemate characterizing workers’ and employers’ efforts to craft a framework agreement. On the other hand, the compromise reached marks a setback for workers’ protection because the Directive qualifies equal treatment and its adoption fuels pressure to include services provided by temporary work agencies within the Services Directive (2006).