Improved benefits
 for self-employed

The council of ministers for employment and social affairs, comprising representatives of EU national governments, has agreed a recommendation that the self-employed should have better access to social protection. 


The areas the council would like to see covered include unemployment, sickness, maternity and paternity, invalidity, pensions, accidents at work and occupational diseases. 


The recommendation, agreed in December, encourages member states to close any formal gaps preventing the self-employed from joining schemes, and to ensure that once in the schemes, they are able to accrue adequate benefits.


However, the measure, which has still to be adopted formally, is a recommendation rather than an instruction, and it depends on national action to make it a reality. Liina Carr of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) regretted the fact that the proposal was not mandatory, but added that it “could bring about better welfare protection for the self-employed in many countries”.

https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1312&langId=en