Flexible Employment or Legal Risk? A European Comparison of Simplified Employment Relationships
Flexible Employment or Legal Risk? A European Comparison of Simplified Employment Relationships

Summary/Abstract: Do simplified employment schemes in European labour law genuinely promote flexibility, or do they instead undermine labour protection and legal certainty? This paper examines their regulatory role in Hungary, Germany, and Romania, using a functional comparative approach that focuses on access conditions, labour protection, social security integration, and administrative structure. The analysis reveals significant divergence among national models. While the German mini-job regime preserves employee status and core protections, the Hungarian and Romanian systems offer more limited integration into labour law and social security. Despite these differences, all models reflect a structural trade-off between flexibility and protection and are associated with risks such as disguised employment, reduced social security coverage, and labour market segmentation. The paper argues that the current European Union framework lacks a coherent approach to simplified employment. It concludes that more balanced and integrated regulatory solutions are needed to ensure that flexibility does not erode the protective function of labour law.

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