Changing Work Patterns and Social Security

The one-job wage earner, for so many generations a bulwark of industrialized society, has all but passed away. We perceive this as contemporary reality, yet it has not been easy to cite the facts and figures necessary to build a stable foundation for the social security of tomorrow's population. Now the European Institute of Social Security, a leading multidisciplinary research group dedicated to exploring the frontiers of social security, has taken the crucial first steps with an in-depth examination of the new and atypical work relations that are emerging. The research and conclusions in this book should help policymakers to identify the areas in which existing social security systems can meaningfully accommodate the new realities of work. The volume records the proceedings of the 1999 Conference of the EISS, held at Limassol in Cyprus, to consider the relations of atypical work patterns and social protection. Among the important issues raised are: the real extent of the atypical work phenomenon; difficulties relating to the assessment of the incomes of the self-employed; social protection of farmers in Europe; and the shortcomings of existing social security systems vis-a-vis self-employment and part-time work. The analysis of trends presented in this book should be useful and informative for anyone - whether in government, business or academia - concerned with the development and future of social protection systems, not only in Europe but throughout the world.