EU employment law updates: third-country jobseeker database and changes to the EGF
In the first half of the year, two noteworthy EU regulations affecting employment law entered into force: the first establishes the EU Talent Pool for recruiting workers from third countries, while the second strengthens the role of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) in restructuring situations.
New EU-wide talent database: the EU Talent Pool
The EU Talent Pool is a voluntary digital platform connecting employers in the EU with jobseekers from third countries. It is intended to address lasting labour and skills shortages, particularly in sectors where vacancies cannot be filled by local workers, while supporting fair and transparent recruitment. The platform will allow jobseekers to create profiles and employers to advertise vacancies. The system will then be able to match job vacancies with suitable candidates automatically.
In practice, the EU Talent Pool should become another official channel for recruiting workers from third countries in shortage occupations. Participation in the platform is voluntary: member states may decide whether to join, and employers and jobseekers may also choose whether to use it. Importantly, a jobseeker’s use of the platform does not in itself confer any right of entry, residence or employment in a member state and does not replace the necessary national immigration procedures.
Broadening the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund
The EU has also adopted a regulation amending the rules governing the EGF, which supports workers affected by restructuring. Until now, it primarily focused on workers who had already lost their jobs. Under the new rules, it may also support workers at imminent risk of redundancy. The aim is to help them acquire new skills or prepare to move into another role before they lose their current jobs.
The EGF will support affected workers through reskilling, upskilling and preparing for a new role with the same employer or a move to another employer. It will also assist them in finding a new job elsewhere in the EU, including through improved information exchange between member states. Support may be initiated by the undertaking undergoing restructuring itself, allowing it to use EU funding to retrain employees before planned redundancies.
Other key changes include:
- a stronger coordinating role for the EGF in cross-border restructuring;
- an amended definition of an undertaking undergoing restructuring, which will also include an undertaking carrying out collective redundancies.