'Flexicurity' - How the EU plans to turn the UK workplace on it's head

In December, I interviewed the head of the think-thank given the responsability for canvassing the opinion of people in the UK on the possible introduction of a new (to the UK at least) way of working, 'flexicurity.'

The following is that interview.

‘FLEXICURITY’ – THE ABILITY TO HIRE AND FIRE WORKERS MORE EASILY - IS THE LABOUR-MARKET BUZZWORD CURRENTLY BEING BRANDISHED ABOUT THE CORRIDORS OF POWER IN BRUSSELS BETWEEN POLITICIANS AND EXPERTS. THE EU WANTS TO IMPLEMENT IT ACROSS ITS MEMBER STATES. BUT WHAT WILL THE IMPLICATIONS BE FOR WELSH WORKERS? VICTORIA WINCKLER, DIRECTOR OF THINK-TANK THE BEVAN FOUNDATION AND, TALKS TO PAUL MacKENZIE-CUMMINS

Firstly, what is the role of the Bevan Foundation?
We were established in 2001 as a non-governmental think-tank to develop fresh ideas about the issues facing people in Wales; from migrant workers to work-life balance or training, for example. In practice, this involves conducting research, organising conferences and debates, publishing reports and policy recommendations that are often debated in the Welsh Assembly and UK Parliament.

What exactly is ‘Flexicurity’?
Put simply, it is a policy that enables employers to hire and fire more easily (flexibility for the employer) thereby encouraging businesses to take on new workers. This is coupled with better social security benefits for the unemployed (security for employees) so that they do not suffer financially as a result of being out of work. This is supposed to. In an age when the ‘job for life’ does not exist, employees can often find themselves changing jobs several times. So, the idea behind ‘flexicurity’ – from an employees perspective – is that people will be offered more constructive assistance to get them back into the workforce through training schemes or help to combine work and family commitments, for instance.

What is the Bevan Foundation’s involvement in ‘flexicurity’?
We wanted to find out what ‘flexicurity’ might mean in an area that has been hugely affected by restructuring, a history of job loss and experience of mass redundancy so that we could establish whether people would be more hostile to lower employment protection. Or might it mean that people will think that ‘if the jobs have already gone, what does it matter anymore?’ We [the Bevan Foundation] have been given a grant by the European Commission to find out what people in Wales think of the concept of ‘flexicurity’ by running various seminar and discussion groups across the country.

What is the background history behind this latest approach to employment legislation?
‘Flexicurity’ was first implemented by the Danes in the early 1990s in an attempt to revive the declining Danish economy, high unemployment and a sharp fall in the value of the Danish Krone. And by 2005, the unemployment level in Denmark had fallen below 5%. Consequently, the EU now wants to adopt it in its European Employment Strategy.

How do you see ‘flexibility’ working in practice in Wales and the rest of the UK?
In practice it would seem that there may be difficulties introducing this policy alongside existing equality and diversity legislation in the UK. The system could potentially clog-up with almost every person dismissed from their job now having grounds for discrimination claims. And, as a result, employers will be leaving themselves wide open to accusation.

There is a suggestion that the European Commission is aiming for a one-size- fits-all "flexicurity recipe" for all Member States. Is that a fair assessment?
What works in Denmark or any other Member State for that matter, may not necessarily translate in the same way here in Wales. And I have not seen evidence that the ability to hire and fire is what leads to job creation.

Does that then imply that perhaps the EU is attempting to encourage ‘pathways’ to be developed that are individual to different national situations?
That would appear to be the premise behind the concept. There is a piece of research currently underway that highlights the fact that the UK is already relatively flexible in terms of its employment protection. But where it is significantly weak is on its help in offering retraining to get people back into the workforce.

What happens once your research is complete?
Once we have collated all the data and analysed the results from the seminars and online questionnaire, we will be producing a report that will be presented to the Welsh Assembly and the European Commission in April. However, the principle of ‘flexicurity’ has already been approved by the UK Government, as it’s inclusion in the Lisbon Agenda (the EU’s action and development plan) testifies.

How can people have their say and express their views on what could potentially be the biggest shake-up of employment legislation in Wales?
We have set up a dedicated website that enables people to post their comments on the forum and complete an online questionnaire at: www.myjob.bevanfoundation.org

Profile:
Victoria Winckler is Director of the Bevan Foundation. She joined the Foundation in 2002 from the Welsh Local Government Association where she was Head of Economic and Environmental Affairs. She has worked for many years in research and policy, including at Mid Glamorgan County Council and at the Social Research Unit at the University of Cardiff.

For more information on the work of the Bevan Foundation, log onto www.bevanfoundation.org

The Bevan Foundation
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Email: myjob@bevanfoundation.org

The Bevan Foundation is a registered charity no. 1104191