Management and Analysis of Salary Costs in in Combination with the New Flexible Forms of Employment and Teleworking

This thesis explores how nonstandard employment (NSE) impacts on workers’ income security in contemporary Vietnam. Following a micro and holistic approach, the primary aim of the thesis is to identify mechanisms that can further income security for employees in developing and transitional economies that are consistent with the need for firms to become and/or remain globally competitive. By incorporating the welfare regime and segmented labour market perspectives into the conceptual framework, the research project pioneers the examination of the impact of NSE on workers’ income security in an integrative and comprehensive manner at both firm and extra-firm levels. The use of disaggregate data makes the current research unique as previous studies in developed countries have been undertaken mainly through the use of aggregate labour market data relating to the characteristics of ‘nonstandard’ jobs or ‘nonstandard’ workers. A central concern of the research is whether there has been a shift away from standard employment practice within firms. Focussing on factors that influence employers’ decisions relating to the preferred mix of employment practices in a given situation (employer-side factors), the research assumes NSE utilisation is driven primarily by short-term economic considerations relating to the minimisation of labour costs and that the impact of NSE utilisation on the income security of workers is mediated by the nature of the employment relationship and the characteristics of workers. A two-stage sequential mixed methods strategy is adopted in which a quantitative study is followed by a qualitative study. With this research strategy, the two elements have equal and complementary roles in the inquiry process. The quantitative study has a cross-sectional design and the data was collected in two survey samples of 134 firms and 1152 employees. Having a cross-case study design using in-depth interviewing as the key method of data collection, the qualitative study was conducted with three key stakeholder groups within eight case firms and four expert informants at the policy-making level. It is concluded that the adoption of more flexible forms of employment has contributed to the decreased income security of workers in general and low-skilled workers in particular. The change is found to be largely an opportunistic response to three characteristics of the labour market and legal environment in Vietnam: (1) the surplus of low skilled labour in the labour market, (2) the limited employment opportunities in the formal sector, and (3) the ineffective compliance system. The change is found to be conducted primarily through the utilisation of NSE in ongoing jobs with unidentified duration so that firms can reduce their compensation costs, especially those associated with the legal entitlements of long-term employees. Subsequently, there has been a relative increase of secondary ongoing jobs and the associated development of a core-periphery employment model in which the quasi-regular peripheral workforce can be either internal or external to the firm. Therefore, those most adversely affected by changing employment practices appear to be manual and semi-skilled workers. Notably, income security of quasi-regular peripheral workers is found to be largely determined by their productive capabilities, not their socio-demographic characteristics. These workers are found to be trapped in NSE because of their limited human capital. Furthermore, firms are often able to achieve informal agreements with low-skilled workers regarding the trade-off between gaining a job and reducing legally mandated benefits, either completely or partially, without constraints imposed by trade unions and other labour market institutions. Based on the observation above, this thesis argues that improvement in the individual rather than collective bargaining power of workers is the most effective way to enhance income security for workers. The thesis further argues that supply-side policies relating to the development of the human capital of the workforce deserve more attention than demand-side policies relating to job creation or the reforming of labour market and social security institutions as what is required is more high-quality jobs not mere job creation.

Flexible and new forms of employment are extensively discussed in contemporary legal literature. Examined often are only employment law aspects and the (in)adequacy of labour law protection of persons involved in these mostly precarious and contingent forms of employment. However, this chapter focuses on their social security aspects, namely, on how non-standard forms of employment affect future pension entitlements. The case law of the CJEU raised the issue of social security rights repercussions already two decades ago (Nolte and Megner and Scheffel cases). However, it acknowledged that Member States have a broad margin of discretion in selecting measures to achieve their social policy aims. Hence, in this chapter, the authors investigate in what way shorter and more fragmented careers due to engagement in new and flexible forms of employment could affect pension rights within the Croatian mandatory pension system compared to standard permanent employment. Authors first provide readers with the main features and data on flexible employment forms in the Croatian labour market compared to EU averages, where applicable. Then they categorise non-standard forms of employment according to tax income regime and payment of contributions regime and examine their potential effect on pension entitlements. In the end, the authors discuss and provide legal assessment and explain why marginalised persons in the labour market could remain marginalised in retirement.

The regulation of employment and social policy – with safe and secure conditions of employment in terms of remuneration, safe employment conditions, protection in the event of dismissal, social dialogue, personal data protection, work-life balance, and finally a healthy, safe and well-adjusted work environment – constitutes the foundations of decent working conditions. At the same time, the task of a democratic state is to adjust the dynamically changing economic and market realities to ensure the maximum level of protection in the areas mentioned above relevant to each employee. This situation is also due to the radically progressing digitization that is changing the challenges of the modern labour market. In this article, the author endeavours to address the social security issue of selected flexible (atypical) forms of employment, including employee and non-employee forms of employment. The author chose fixed-term contracts and employment on digital platforms as the subject of analysis, while remaining aware of the multifaceted nature of social security. In this paper, she defends the thesis that the so-called “flexibility of employment relations” should be subject to the broader impact of social security regulations in situations where there are no normative obstacles to them being extended.

Risk Shifts in the Gig Economy: The Normative Case for an Insurance Scheme against the Effects of Precarious Work*

The article examines the transformation of the labor market and population employment in the context of personnel shortage. The main conclusions of the work are that, firstly, the labor market of modern Russia is experiencing an active development of flexible forms of employment, which are reflected in the socio-economic processes of the regions and the legal framework of the Russian Federation. The law On Employment in the Russian Federation defines the legal field for previously non-included phenomena and concepts, such as "self-employment", "platform employment", etc. Thus, the labor market and government labor services indicate the development of alternative, flexible forms of the population's employment. This makes it possible to legalize the labor activity of a number of categories of the population, in particular those working on digital platforms and creating their own workplace. Secondly, trends in regional demographic indicators determine the scale of employment and the specifics of personnel shortages in times during a period of personnel shortage. Today, much attention is paid to such socio-demographic groups as young people and the older generation. According to the UN, the aging process is becoming one of the most significant transformations of the 21st century. The author's position is to continue to identify socio-demographic groups of the country's population that are capable of making up for the decline in labor force. Thirdly, the implementation of the concept of a flexible labor market requires expanding the provision of flexible labor regimes to the population. The basis for this concept, which has been studied since the 1970s, is the transition to more flexible, functionally individualized and non-standard forms of employment. The main advantage of such a labor market is the ability to adequately respond to changes in prices, demand and supply of labor resources and create the required quantity, quality and price of labor. Fourthly, an effective measure to solve the personnel shortage problem is economic incentives and social conditions that can attract and retain qualified workers. In industrially advanced sectors that meet the tasks of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, a combination of high-tech equipment and highly qualified personnel is more necessary, which will help ensure such development of Russian regions. While the service sector is the most flexible to the norms of a flexible labor market due to its labor-intensive nature, it largely depends on the application of management methods, quality optimization, organizational issues, and socio-psychological stimulation. Fifthly, systematic monitoring of the labor market is required at regional and sectoral levels. The analysis showed that, despite the general trends in the transformation of the labor market and employment in the Russian Federation, there are differences in territorial manifestations and areas of economic activity. The findings of the work may be useful to scientists, specialists, and politicians studying the problems of the labor market and employment in conditions of personnel shortage. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

For some years now a tendency towards a more flexible shaping of employment has been observable. Little research, however, has been dedicated to the question of how relevant this is for the commitment of freelance employees. Therefore the present paper first reverts to the question as to whether - and if so, under what preconditions - freelancers are likely to feel commitment towards the company that employs them. Second, the paper identifies clusters of freelancers following their work-related expectations. On the basis of an empirical study among IT-freelancers it becomes clear that freelancers differ from permanent employees as regards their work-related expectations. Consequences for their felt commitment hence ensue. All in all it is mainly an affective commitment towards their company which they perceive. Key words: Commitment, Flexible Employment Forms, Freelanced Employees, Work-related Expectations 1. Introduction On the German labour market, clear tendencies of a transition to more flexible employment forms can be detected in recent years. This leads to far-reaching changes in the workforce structure of many companies: Tasks are no longer accomplished within companies but rather outsourced to specialists who perform at higher levels of efficiency. Within the outsourcing companies workplaces become obsolete and a segregation from permanent employees ensues (Storey/Salaman/Platman 2005). Against this background, it is not surprising that a continuous turning away from the so called regular employer-employee1 relationship may be observed in recent years. In Germany, these employments are understood as a durably conceived relationship that is based upon a perpetual contract and carried out in full time. Different atypical employments take the place of regular employer-employee relationships. Temporary work (contracts) and part-time employment can already be noticed for some time. Besides, a tendency towards self-employment may be detected in recent years. It is discussed in literature and corporate practice under different notions as new self-employed or freelance. Data gained by the German Institut fur Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (institute for labour market and job research) (IAB) demonstrate that about 40 % of all employees are not employed in a regular employeremployee relationship (Hoffmann/Walwei 2002). The number of freelancers in Germany is estimated to be round about two million with an increasing tendency (Moldaschl 2003: 109). The notion freelancer is not clearly defined in Germany, neither from a juridical (social law) nor from an economic (business administration) perspective. It can hence not be excluded that its usage in corporate practice shows overlapping with other forms of atypical employment. In corporate practice freelancers are seen as people who perform in a personal, self-dependent and - irrespective of professions - intellectually ideal way for their employer. The employer can be a company as well as other individuals. As a rule, freelancers are specifically qualified - e.g. as an IT-freelancer and are to be flexibly employed as regards time or location (Freelancerverband 2004). In Germany, highly qualified freelancers are particularly represented in media (journalists at the press, radio or television), in consulting firms, and in the IT-industry (Statistisches Bundesamt 2003: 72-73). As a consequence of more flexible employment forms, permanent staff in companies diminishes while peripheral staff increases (Torka/Looise/Van Riemsdijk 2005). On the one hand, companies benefit through economic advantages. They particularly consist in a reduction of fixed labour costs and supplementary costs, higher flexibility and an externalisation of the risk of fluctuating utilisation. On the other hand, numerous indicators are to be found for negative changes in the social and psychological relationship between companies and freelancers. As a result of the expected flexibility and their rather lose, temporary contractual relationship to a company it is argued that freelancers may show - considerably - less identification and loyalty to a company than permanent employees (Anderson/Schalk 1998; Pfeffer 2005). …

The aim of the article is to present the idea of Gig Economy as a flexible form of employment, which may serve as an opportunity to break the cycle of professional passivity among women in a macroeconomic scale. The author presents data on unemployment and access to employees on the labor market, and compares them with a relatively low level of professional activity among women. The article explores the issue of motivation to undertake professional activity, discusses the barriers to building a professional path by women, and indicates the potential influence of flexible forms of employment, based on the example of gig economy, on the improvement of the professional situation of women. Based on the available reports, secondary data and source literature the author identifies the basic social factors which impact the growth of professional activity among women, indicating the relationship between flexible forms of employment and the state of the labor market, expressed through the activeness of women.

The paper presents the sociodemographic data obtained as a result of an empirical study carried out on a groupof n=2118 workers employed under what is referred to as flexible forms of employment, within a more extensiveresearch project entitled “Occupational problems of individuals working under flexible forms of employment –the psychological perspective”. The inspiration to focus on this particular part of the research was provided bya trend observed in the international literature, analysing the profile of an average flexible worker in highlydeveloped countries. An analysis of the study sample of flexible workers shows that the group included ratheryoung people, with a similar share of women and men, living in big cities, and with a rather short length ofservice; they were well-educated, married people with children, with a small number of previous employers,and mostly working in the private sector. The Polish study sample matches the descriptions of the averageflexible European worker.

The paper presents the sociodemographic data obtained as a result of an empirical study carried out on a group of n=2118 workers employed under what is referred to as flexible forms of employment, within a more extensive research project entitled “Occupational problems of individuals working under flexible forms of employment - the psychological perspective”. The inspiration to focus on this particular part of the research was provided by a trend observed in the international literature, analysing the profile of an average flexible worker in highly developed countries. An analysis of the study sample of flexible workers shows that the group included rather young people, with a similar share of women and men, living in big cities, and with a rather short length of service; they were well-educated, married people with children, with a small number of previous employers, and mostly working in the private sector. The Polish study sample matches the descriptions of the average flexible European worker.

In recent decades, economic policy makers across Europe have sought to increase labour market flexibility by promoting the use of temporary employment. The articles in this Feature provide new results on how fixed-term and agency work contracts affect firm productivity and how the segments of two-tier labour markets interact. This article points to a possible trade-off between efficiency and equity when deregulating labour markets. Taken together, the evidence presented in this Feature suggests that flexible forms of employment can be both a boon and a bane for labour markets and for society as a whole.

Flexible forms of employment are used more and more in the Greek public sector in the recent years. They apply to a wide range of public sector activities with many different types. The causes for this increase are due to the rapid changes in the economic, social and technological environment, as well as to the “core” of the European employment policies, the promotion of social policy and the coverage of needs of the public sector that cannot be met by the existing civil servants. The institutionalization of flexible forms of employment in the largest employer of the country, with its special role on the overall economic and social development, has significant implications for the economy, the society, the labor market, the function of public services and the public employees, especially as far as the employment status and employment relations in the public sector are concerned. However, the analysis of their implementation so far highlights the multifaceted effects of the flexible forms of employment in the public sector and therefore a thorough further investigation is required in order to make these forms useful for the economy, the society and the employees.

Flexible forms of employment are an important way employees and employers are adjusting to changes occurring in the labour market and the era of the digital economy. The time and place of work can be flexible, as can the form of employment contract chosen and the relationship between employee and employer, remuneration or scope of work. One flexible form of employment is job sharing. It consists in sharing a full-time job between a number of people who work part-time and voluntarily assume responsibility for the implementation of tasks associated with that job. The first chapter presents the essence of job sharing based on a review of the literature. It is noted that job sharing is a complex concept and legal solutions for concluding contracts connected with this form of employment differ from country to country. However, job sharing may help to overcome many digital economy-related challenges on the labour market. The second part of this chapter presents the results of our own survey, which clearly indicate that job sharing is the least-frequently used form of employment offered by the employers surveyed. In contrast to other European countries, in Poland job sharing is offered primarily by companies in the private sector, and to the least extent by public sector entities.

The situation on the labour market can be influenced by other factors apart from economic development. Equally as important are political decisions, qualification of labor force, its values and attitudes, flexibility of labour jurisdiction and flexible forms of employment, demographic swings in population, employee relations and social aspects within their implementation. The study explores trends in economic development, unemployment and in the migration flow of labor force abroad during the period of economic growth before the onset of global financial crisis. Geographically it covers countries of Central Europe. We look into causal dependence between economic growth, decrease in unemployment rate and migration flows of labor force. Moreover we argue that a significant drop of unemployment rate during the studied period was not predominantly the result of economic growth but it was caused by emigration of labor force.

The need for the study is justified by the development of flexible forms of employment in the economy with new job opportunities for the international division of labor. The paper analyzed new job opportunities and risks associated with flexible form of employment for the workers, employers and the state individually as well as in relation to each other. The study investigated the future prospects of flexible forms of employment along with its impact on the economic opportunities for the enterprises and workers and conclusion has been drawn. The impact of flexible employment was also investigated on the welfare of the population and the development of national economies in the context of globalization. Three forms of flexible employment: temporal flexibility, spatial flexibility and functional flexibility have been identified to achieve the research goal.
 The prospects of flexible form of employment for the enterprise and employee were assessed based on the subjective approach. The rapid assessment and empirical analysis method were used to track the population dynamics and their interest in flexible forms of employment. The results show that the increase in the share of flexible employment in the economy is justified by the increased importance of creative labor in the labor market. Flexible workers represent a diverse population group in terms of the socio-economic structure. The active development of flexible forms of employment has been considered as a manifestation of the self-regulating economy and as a form of adaptation of the population to the changing socio-economic situation. The new agile business integration can reduce the costs of hiring a full-time employee and increases employees’ motivation level. The state needs to institutionalize new forms of employment in order to ensure the competitiveness of the national economy and to ensure budget revenues.

The growing interest in remote work and flexible forms of employment is undoubtedly due to technological development (including changes in the labour market) and measures taken to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic. The experience of this period allowed us to observe certain regularities in the field of remote work, revealing its pros and cons. This article aims to summarize the current state of remote work regulations and the possibilities opened up by the home office model. The first part describes the remote work regulations laid out in Polish legislation and the current state of the labour market, which affects the interest in flexible forms of employment. The article then details the new part of the Labour Code, which also influences the current shape of remote work. Focusing on the home office form (i.e., working from home), the author presents an exemplary enumeration of the advantages and disadvantages of the flexible employment models observable today, noting the opportunities and threats resulting from their use. Due to the impact of remote work on various areas of an employee’s life, considerations are conducted on both legal and social grounds. The last section is a summary of flexible forms of work and the chances of their success in the light of post‑pandemic achievements. It also briefly presents the hybrid work model as a solution that takes advantage of remote employment opportunities while minimizing the visible risks.