IER’s Trine P. Larsen and Anna Ilsøe (Employment Relations Research Centre (FAOS), University of Copenhagen, Denmark) have edited a special issue for the European Journal of Industrial Relations. It consists of contributions from a range of leading European scholars and looks at the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining to creating, maintaining or reducing the risks associated with employment contracts of few hours, such as marginal part-time work, temporary agency work and zero-hour contracts. It additionally considers changes in welfare institutions with regard to the protection of these groups of workers.

In the introductory paper, the authors discuss why and how working in marginal part-time jobs involves vulnerability, and the differential roles collective bargaining and social protection may have on these jobs, depending in particular on the associated employment status (employees, workers or self-employed).