than in larger companies employing 50 or more, while there is no difference between
the latter and smaller companies employing fewer than 20 people, where the results are
not statistically significant; 5) higher for part-time than for full-time workers, and
higher for employees having more than one job than for those having only one; 6) much
higher for employees who were out of employment in the previous year than for those
who were already employed [2].
Temporary work is booming, in particular in Germany. Almost two percent of all
employees are temps rented by agencies to other companies to meet peaks in demand
without hiring new staff. The politicians who came up with the idea originally believed
that the system would allow the German economy to better react to business
fluctuations. At the same time, temporary work would help unemployed people get into
permanent jobs. That's how it works in theory, anyway [3]. But in practice, several
companies recognised the tremendous saving potential that came with hiring cheap
temporary workers instead of sticking to their more expensive permanent employees.
In some countries, particularly lower-income developing countries, temporary
employment is characterized by casual employment relations, which in most cases
means that workers are engaged on a daily, weekly or sometimes seasonal basis, but
without a formal work contract. In developing countries, the trends and incidence of
temporary or casual employment are affected primarily by the movement from self-
employment into waged employment [4].
Part-time employment (defined statistically as employees who work fewer than
35 hours per week) is the most widespread type of non-standard employment found
among women. Broader public policies aimed at women in non-standard work can
either reinforce gender stereotyping – and its subsequent ramifications in the labour
market – or remedy it. Indeed, differences in labour force participation rates frequently
reflect prevailing social welfare policies, tax policies and the provision of public
services. In this regard, it is important to institute policies aimed at increasing overall
labour force participation of women by promoting tax systems that favour second
earners, and making it easier for women and men to reach better work-family balance
through publicly funded and adequate care services, public transfers, and suitable and
quality workplace working time [5].
It should be noted that, precarious work is frequently associated with, but cannot
be considered identical to the following types of employment: “part-time employment,
self-employment, fixed-term work, temporary work, on-call work, home working, and
telecommuting.” All of these forms of employment are related in that they depart from
the standard employment relationship (full-time, continuous work with one employer),
but they are not in all cases to be considered precarious, since a good legislation and/or
good collective agreements can secure these contract forms [6].
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