Cross-National Variations in the Security Gap: Perceived Job Insecurity among Temporary and Permanent Employees and Employment Protection Legislation

Abstract

It is often shown that temporary employees generally perceive their job insecurity to be higher than permanent employees. However, substantial variations in this perceived job security gap exist between countries. This article engages with this knowledge and adds to it by focusing on these country variations and asking what role the strength of employment protection legislation (EPL) has both on the size of the job security gap and in explaining country differences. The developed hypotheses suggest that the two components of EPL - job security provisions, indicating the 'protection gap' between permanent and temporary employees as well as specific regulations on the use of temporary contracts - will increase the job security gap. These hypotheses are tested using data from the European Social Survey for 2004 and 2010 and data on employment regulations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Compared to existing studies, this article offers a more detailed look at the operationalization of job security provisions and regulations on temporary employment - proposing an alternative measurement which is more closely related to the theoretical arguments. By using this more elaborate operationalization, the multilevel model shows that the gap in perceived job security between temporary and permanent employees systematically increases with respect to the two components of EPL.