The Employment Information Directive 1991 (91/533/EEC) of 14 October 1991,[1] also known as the "Written Statement Directive",[2] or the "Employment Information Directive" was an EU Directive which regulates European labour law for the purpose of making workers' contracts transparent. It has been superseded by the Employment Information Directive 2019.[3]
The Directive requires EU governments to introduce legislation which gives employees within their jurisdiction the right to be notified in writing of the essential aspects of their employment relationship when it starts or shortly afterwards. Some Member States (but not all) require the conclusion of a detailed written employment contract. According to the European Commission, "the aim of Directive 91/533/EEC is to provide employees with improved protection, to avoid uncertainty and insecurity about the terms of the employment relationship and to create greater transparency on the labour market. To this end, the Directive states that every employee must be provided with a document containing information on the essential elements of [their] contract or employment relationship.[4] Coverage is variable because it is linked to the definition of an employment contract or employment relationship adopted by the relevant member state, and member states could choose to exclude short term contracts (less than on month), short working weeks (less than eight hours per week) and casual labour from the scope of their implementing regulations.[5]
An evaluation of the directive was undertaken in 2016.[2]
An alternative directive on "Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions" has been proposed. This will, if adopted, replace Directive 91/533/EEC, but until its adoption and entry into force, Directive 91/533/EEC remains applicable.[4]
