WORKING TIME AND WORKING CONTRACTS FLEXIBILITY IN SLOVAKIA AND IN EUROPE - INTERCOUNTRY COMPARISON

The paper presents inter country comparison of work flexibility in Slovakia and in Europe. Especially we pay attention to working time flexibility (part time) and contractual flexibility (temporary working contracts). A prerequisite for the wider application of flexibility are environment and conditions (political, economic and non-economic). In this paper we will identify these conditions and we will classify groups of countries in terms of the level and the nature of labor flexibility (in the above-mentioned aspects). We will use data about working contracts flexibility from the statistical database Eurostat and we will describe and compare the average level of contractual flexibility of European Union countries with data for Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. Subsequently we identify the causes of work in flexible configurations, distinguishing between positive and negative flexibility, respectively required from enforced flexibility. In conclusion we will mention recommendations to support the practice and development of positive flexibility of working contracts arrangements in Slovakia.