‘Equal’ yet poor: The ineffective protection of atypical workers under EU law

Statistical data show that on average almost one in every 12 workers in the EU is living in a poor household. This reality illustrates the gaps in the existing legal framework for protecting workers, particularly the most precarious ones, from poverty. The present contribution aims to identify some of the reasons for that. In so doing, we focus on atypical work —perceived as particularly problematic from an in-work poverty perspective — and specifically on the EU regulatory approach towards it, which heavily relies on the principle of equal treatment as a means to protect workers. The article engages with the question of whether the principle of equal treatment enshrined in the atypical work Directives is enough or, on the contrary, if it is failing in its declared intention to protect atypical workers. In its analysis as well as in its propositive part, this contribution builds on the findings of the research done in the H2020 Working Yet Poor research project. We engage in a critical assessment of the current EU Directives on atypical work, highlighting existing gaps, shortcomings, and challenges. This assessment shows the limits of the Directives in general and the principle of equal treatment in particular in combating in-work poverty. We therefore advance some regulatory proposals to implement the EU Pillar of Social Rights and further enhance the current EU approach to atypical work by rendering it better equipped to prevent in-work poverty.