28 January 2020

WestMidland Europe Hub, avenue d’Auderghem, Brussels

14.00h-17.40h, followed by a networking reception

Register HERE by 20 January 2020

Eurofound, ACCA and SMEunited are delighted to invite you to attend a joint conference on ‘The changing environment of the self-employed’. The half-day conference, held under the auspices of the Croatian Presidency 2020, will bring together up to 100 policy makers, social partners, representatives from business, professional bodies and academia. As a new College of Commissioners takes shape, together with a recently elected European Parliament, it will be a timely opportunity for a lively and interactive debate on how the world of work is constantly evolving due to megatrends such as globalisation, changing lifestyles, an ageing population, new business practices and digitisation and the impact on employment.

Recent changes have led to increased labour market flexibility and greater diversity in forms of work, creating new types of work and allowing more people to become professionally active. At the same time, a well-functioning European labour market that ensures inclusive growth for all requires that the working environment and its legal ecosystem match these realities. Yet little is known about these new types of work, mainly created through online platforms. Some argue that this form of self-employment brings great opportunities and there are those that highlight the many challenges and risks. And what are the implications of these new realities for public policy in Europe?

This event will be a useful forum to explore the changing landscape of the self-employed through the prism of new business models and platforms. It will be an opportunity to discuss the impact of the changing world of work on employment, as well as a chance to debate the blurred boundaries between dependent employment and self-employment. A first panel session will look at taxation and employment/social aspects, including the thorny issue of social protection. The second will cover company law and platform business relations, including issues linked to fair digital corporate responsibility and fairness in platform work.

Programme

13.45h Registrations and coffee

14.00h Welcome by Juan Menéndez-Valdés, Executive Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)

14.10h keynote speech Dragos Pislaru, MEP

14.20h Panel on Taxation and Social aspects, moderated by Jason Piper, Head of Tax and ACCA

• Max Uebe, Head of Unit, Employment Strategy, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
• Marlene Stoel, Attaché for Social Affairs and Employment, Dutch Permanent Representation to the EU
• Karolien Lenaerts, KU Leuven  
• Mathijn Wilkens, Research Officer, Working Life Unit, Eurofound
• Gerhard Huemer, Director, Economic Affairs and Taxation, SMEunited

15.30h Q&As

15.45h coffee break

16.00h Panel on Company law, digitalisation and new business models, moderated by Salla Saastamoinen, Director, Civil and Commercial Justice, DG JUST

• Stijn Broecke, Head of Future of Work team, OECD
• Willem-Pieter de Groen, Research Fellow and Head of Financial Markets and Institutions Unit, CEPS 
• Jason Piper, Head of Business Law and Tax, ACCA
• Ignacio Doreste, adviser, ETUC
• Luc Hendrickx,  Director of Enterprise Policy and International Affairs, SMEunited

17.15h Q&A

17.30h Concluding remarks, representative from the Croatian Presidency of the EU

17.40h Networking reception

Please note that pictures, videos, and audio recordings will be made at this event in which you may be featured. By attending this event, you grant the organisers the right to use such material for non-commercial purposes, including the posting of photos and/or videos on our website. If you wish to object to this, please contact the organisers.