Spain is singled out as a good example of how the government and social partners can work together to improve the working conditions of the self-employed and thus contribute to job creation and economic growth, according to a new report from Eurofound, the Dublin-based EU Agency.

Self-employment is a highly topical issue in most EU Member States. There have been many reforms in employment law in recent years, aimed at ensuring that workers under other kinds of employment contracts receive the same protection as employees. Despite progress in this area, there are still difficulties in coming up with a standard definition of self-employed workers, due to the different national contexts and legal frameworks.

The proportion of self-employed workers varies widely from country to country. While most countries in southern Europe record a relatively high proportion – from one in three workers in Greece (35%) to one in four in Italy (26%), Portugal (25%) and Cyprus (20%) – in Spain just one in ten workers (11%) is self-employed. This is close to the EU average (10.5%), according to the report.

The research found that as well as having to contend with low earnings, discontinuous work, long and non-standard working hours, self-employed workers are also prone to a relatively high incidence of industrial accidents and work-related health problems. The report argues that wide-ranging measures and solutions at national and EU levels are needed to tackle these issues. On the positive side, recent market deregulation has enabled more people to find work as self-employed workers, thus contributing to labour market expansion and economic growth.