Fixed-term workers – Still an outsider in the Danish Labour Market

Abstract

Since 2002, fixed-term workers (employees with short or long term rather than permanent contracts) have enjoyed similar rights and working conditions as permanent staff in similar job positions. This article examines whether fixed-term workers in practice have access to the rights and working conditions as stated in the Danish law and the collective agreements. It argues that fixed-term workers to some degree face discrimination despite the law and the collective agreements’ principle of non-discrimination. The institutional set-up, including the size of the individual workplaces and the degree of decentralisation, appear to some extent to influence fixed-term workers’ working conditions. Indeed, the risk of fixed-term workers facing discrimination appears greater in municipalities with self-regulation and in relatively small workplaces. Also the attitude of individual employers and trade union representatives seems to affect the extent to which fixed-term workers experience discrimination.