Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

RemovedRecital 14 b (new): (14b) Direction, personal service, and the pursuit of activities which are real and genuine to the exclusion of activities on such a small scale as to be regarded as purely marginal and ancillary, are essential elements of the definition of an employment relationship in the case-law of the Court of Justice1o. / 1o Judgments of the Court of Justice of 3 July 1986, Deborah Lawrie-Blum v Land Baden-Württemberg; Case C-228/07 Jörn Petersen v Landesgeschäftsstelle des Arbeitsmarktservice Niederösterreich [2008] ECR I-06989 para 45.

AddedRecitals 16 a (new)

RemovedRecital 14 c (new): (14c) The Court of Justice has repeatedly held that the concept of ‘worker’, within the meaning of Article 45 TFEU extends to a person who serves a traineeship1a. The case-law of the Court of Justice has applied the employment nexus to the four main types of traineeships: those which are open market1b, mandatory for a profession1c, associated with active labour market policies1d and part of an academic or vocational qualification1e. / 1a Case C-485/20 XXXX v HR Rail SA [2022] ECLI:EU:C:2022:85, para 31. / 1b Case C-485/20 XXXX v HR Rail SA [2022] ECLI:EU:C:2022:85; / 1c Case C-66/85 Deborah Lawrie-Blum v Land Baden-Württemberg [1986] ECR I-02121; Case C-109/04 Karl Robert Kranemann v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen [2005] ECR I-02421. / 1d Case C-229/14 Ender Balkaya v Kiesel Abbruch-und Recycling Technik GmbH [2015] ECLI:EU:C:2015:455 / 1e Case C-344/20 LF v SCRL [2022] ECLI:EU:C:2022:77.

AddedAmendment: (16a) This Directive defines traineeships as comprising a limited period of entry-level work aiming to provide practical and professional skills through significant learning and training to facilitate the transition from education to a standard employment relationship or access a profession, on the basis of a written contract between the trainee and the traineeship provider, which is paid in accordance with national law, collective agreements or practice, and, where applicable with Directive (EU) 2022/2041.

RemovedRecital 15: (15) Considering the persistent abusive practices arising from the use of traineeships in the Union, further action is needed to ensure that the relevant Union and national law applicable to trainees is fully implemented and enforced.

AddedRecitals 16 b (new)

RemovedRecital 16: (16) This Directive lays down a common definition of traineeships and a common framework for preventing abusive practices arising from the use of traineeships for purposes outside of facilitating the transition from education to stable employment or accessing a profession. The Directive therefore regulates the working conditions of the entry-level work undertaken by trainees during the traineeship.

AddedAmendment: (16b) Traineeship providers should provide trainees with access to social protection in accordance with national schemes, including health insurance, unemployment benefits and pension contributions.

RemovedRecital 16 a (new): (16a) This Directive defines traineeships as a limited period of entry-level work aiming to provide practical and professional skills through significant training to facilitate the transition to stable employment or accessing a profession, based on a written contract between the trainee and the traineeship provider, which is paid in accordance with Directive (EU) 2022/2041.

AddedRecitals 16 c (new)

Change 6

ChangedRecital 16 b (new):Amendment: (16b)(16c) One of the challenges withrelating traineeshipto the regulation of traineeships is the lackabsence of claritycommon overrules whator of a shared legal understanding of the concept and purpose of traineeships at Union level, together with a traineeshiplack isof underspecific Unionlegislation law.in many Member States. This Directive addresses that challenge by providing a common definition of the concept and purpose of a traineeship.traineeship as a limited period of work, the purpose of which is to facilitate the transition from education to standard employment. To the same end, this Directive provides for measures to detect and combat practices that circumvent the purpose of traineeships and the use of standard employment relationships disguised as traineeships.

Change 7

RemovedRecital 16 c (new): (16c) This Directive ensures that the principle of non-discrimination pursuant to Article 21 of the Charter as well as Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council1a, Council Directive 2000/43/EC1b and Directive 2000/78/EC, apply to traineeships, in respect of access to traineeships and the working conditions including pay. This addresses concerns concerning the discriminatory implications of traineeships and promotes the inclusivity of traineeships. / 1a Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p. 23). / 1b Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22).

AddedRecital 16 d (new): (16d) This Directive establishes provisions to ensure the quality and accessibility of traineeships. It sets out the minimum quality criteria to be included in a written traineeship agreement as well as requiring Member States to take effective measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of traineeships, in particular for persons who are at risk of being excluded from the labour market, including persons with disabilities, people residing in the outermost regions and other remote, rural, insular, peripheral and mountainous regions, as well as sparsely populated areas, people from disadvantaged socio-economic or migrant backgrounds, people from the Roma community and people with lower levels of educational attainment.

RemovedRecital 16 d (new): (16d) Member States should also promote increased access to traineeships for trainees from vulnerable backgrounds, including those with disabilities, by ensuring that workplaces are adapted to be accessible to trainees with disabilities.

AddedRecital 16 e (new): (16e) This Directive ensures that the principle of non-discrimination laid down in Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council1a, Directive 2000/78/EC, Council Directive 2000/43/EC1b and Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, apply to traineeships, in respect of access to traineeships and the working conditions including pay. This Directive addresses concerns relating to the discriminatory implications of traineeships and promotes the inclusivity of traineeships. / 1a Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p. 23). / 1b Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22).

RemovedRecital 17: deleted

AddedRecital 16 f (new): (16f) Trainees should benefit from the same level of health and safety protection as other workers in the same establishment. Taking into account the level of their professional experience and the nature of the tasks assigned, they should be provided with additional safeguards, including tailored information, appropriate supervision and training measures.

RemovedRecital 18: (18) This Directive requires Member States to introduce effective measures to combat abusive practices arising from the use of traineeships for purposes other than facilitating the transition from education to stable employment, with the effect of granting lower levels of protection, including working conditions and pay, than the trainee concerned would be entitled to under Union or national law, collective agreements or practice.

AddedRecital 16 g (new): (16g) Traineeship providers should ensure that persons with disabilities have the same traineeship opportunities as others. Member States should take effective measures to remove the obstacles to participation in traineeships. Trainees with disabilities should receive tailored support, including adaptations to physical and digital work environments to accommodate specific needs, flexible training schedules to account for healthrelated requirements, and support from trained mentors or designated disability liaison officers to ensure a successful and inclusive experience. Obstacles to participation in traineeships might also arise, for persons with disabilities, from the automatic loss of disability allowance or entitlement to other services upon undertaking a traineeship. Member States should also provide financial subsidies, using State aid, to employers who take on trainees with disabilities to cover any costs linked to reasonable accommodations.

RemovedRecital 19: deleted

AddedRecital 17: (17) Work-based learning programmes falling under the definition of a traineeship vary significantly across Member States. For the purposes of this Directive, traineeships that are integral to and a mandatory part of the curriculum of formal higher education or vocational education and training and that are undertaken solely for the purpose of obtaining academic or professional credits should be excluded. This Directive should cover open-market traineeships, traineeships in the context of active labour market policies, traineeships that are a mandatory part of professional training, as well as traineeships which are a part of formal education or training but are not integral to or a mandatory part of the curriculum and which are not undertaken solely for the purpose of obtaining academic or professional credits. Apprenticeships, within the meaning of the Council Recommendation of 15 March 2018 on a European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships, should be excluded from the scope of this Directive, given that they are based on a different work-based learning model with distinct objectives and regulatory frameworks at Union and national level.

RemovedRecital 20: deleted

AddedRecital 18: (18) This Directive requires Member States to introduce effective measures to detect and combat practices that circumvent the purpose of traineeships and the use of standard employment relationships disguised as traineeships , with the effect of granting lower levels of protection, including working conditions and pay, than the trainee concerned would be entitled to under Union or national law, collective agreements or practice.

RemovedRecital 21: deleted

AddedRecital 18 a (new): (18a) Member States should implement targeted actions and structural reforms aimed at supporting traineeships. To that end, Member States should develop and enforce measures to prevent practices that circumvent the purpose of traineeships and the use of standard employment relationships disguised as traineeships, protect labour rights, and foster the creation of quality employment opportunities.

RemovedRecital 22: deleted

AddedRecital 18 b (new): (18b) Member States should encourage workers’ representatives and other relevant legal entities to allocate a designated person within such organisations to serve as a first point of contact for trainees to seek advice on available remedies and support in cases of suspected malpractice, poor working conditions, infringements of their rights or any similar practices. As such, they can provide additional oversight and play an important role in the monitoring and enforcement of this Directive.

AddedRecital 19: (19) Traineeships necessarily entail the establishment of an employment relationship between the trainee and the traineeship provider and can be distinguished from standard employment relationships in that they are limited in time, they include a significant learning and training component and that they are undertaken in order to gain practical and professional experience, with a view to facilitating the transition from education to standard employment or accessing a profession.

AddedRecital 20: (20) The principle of non-discrimination is suitable to detect and combat practices that circumvent the purpose of traineeships and the use of standard employment relationships disguised as traineeships, such as granting trainees less favourable working conditions or lower pay compared with other workers without appropriate justification, and to ensure the sustainability of traineeships as a pathway to standard employment opportunities. It can also help make traineeships more accessible to groups of workers in a vulnerable situation or who are at risk of being excluded from the labour market.

AddedRecital 21: (21) It is therefore necessary to lay down the principle of non-discrimination for trainees which should apply in addition to Clause 4 of the Annex to the Council Directive 1999/70/EC of 28 June 1999 concerning the framework agreement on fixed-term work concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP, which provides that in respect of employment conditions, fixed-term workers are not to be treated in a less favourable manner than comparable permanent workers solely because they have a fixed-term contract or relation unless different treatment is justified on objective grounds. Trainees are by definition ‘fixed-term workers’ within the meaning of that Directive. Its clause on the principle of non-discrimination, however, does not allow for comparison with other fixed-term workers. Moreover, Clause 2 (2) of the Annex to that Directive allows Member States to exclude certain types of workers from its scope, including initial vocational training relationships and apprenticeship schemes or employment contracts and relationships which have been concluded within the framework of a specific public or publicly supported training, integration and vocational retraining programme. It also fails to recognise the particularly vulnerable position that trainees are in. It is therefore necessary to guarantee that the principle of equal treatment compared to other workers applies to all trainees. Traineeship providers should also inform trainees about vacancies, which become available in their organisation …

AddedRecital 22: (22) Member States should therefore ensure that, in respect of working conditions including pay and social protection, trainees are not treated in a less favourable manner than other workers in the same establishment. The sole fact of being a trainee cannot constitute grounds for less favourable treatment compared to other workers in the same establishment.

Recital 23: deleted

Recital 24: deleted

Change 8

ChangedRecital 25: (25) It is necessary to ensure thorough data collection, as well as regular and effective controls and inspections conducted by competent authorities as they are essential to protect the rights of trainees and to combatdetect abusiveand combat practices arisingthat fromcircumvent the usepurpose of traineeships. They should be targeted to avoid the substitution of stableother employment relationships, where the elements of a traineeship are not present, by repeated traineeships and to protect the trainees’ rights. All collected data should be standardised, comparable and shared in line with the principles of the Open Data Directive to identify trends, promote transparency, and support future policy improvements based on evidence.

Change 9

ChangedRecital 26: (26) In order to identifydetect abusiveand combat practices arisingthat fromcircumvent the purpose of traineeships and the use of standard employment relationships disguised as traineeships, competent authorities should perform an overall assessment of all relevant facts. In order to facilitate the assessment for competent authorities, this Directive sets out various factual and circumstantial elements that should be relevant in identifyingdetecting abusiveand practicescombatting arisingsuch frompractices and the use of traineeships.such standard employment relationships. The assessment of those elements should be performed on a case-by-case basis, taking due account of the content of the written traineeship agreement and the circumstances of each specific case.

Change 10

RemovedRecital 27: deleted

AddedRecital 27: (27) Trainees should not be required to have previous work experience in the same field in order to access a traineeship in the same or a similar field. Requiring previous work experience for a traineeship, in particular in the same or similar field of activity, could indicate practices that circumvent the purpose of traineeships.

Change 11

ChangedRecital 28: (28) When competent authorities carry out their analysis of the relevant facts to determine the existence of abusive practices arisingthat fromcircumvent the usepurpose of traineeships, the information needed to perform this analysis mightcan notbe alwaysdrawn beboth easilyfrom accessiblethe content of the written traineeship agreement and the facts relating to them.the actual performance of work irrespective of how the relationship is designated in any contractual arrangement that may have been agreed between the parties involved. In order to enable competent authorities to perform their tasks, employerstraineeship providers should be obliged to provide them with the necessary information that lies in their control toupon request of the competent authorities. Ensuring access to such information is crucial to enabling competent authorities to determine the existence of practices that circumvent the purpose of traineeships. Such information should be provided without delay.

Change 12

ChangedRecital 29: (29) Member States should have appropriate measures in place to facilitate the identificationdetection ofand abusivecombating of practices arisingthat fromcircumvent the purpose of traineeships and the use of standard employment relationships disguised as traineeships. This should include a time limit indicating excessive duration of a traineeship and of repeated, including consecutive, traineeships with the same employer.traineeship. A reasonable maximum duration of traineeships should, in principle, not exceed six months, as stipulated in the 2014 Recommendation. However, Member States may provide that a longer duration can be justified if it is based on objective grounds that further the aims of a traineeship. Examples of such exceptions could be traineeships whose completion is a mandatory requirement to access a specific profession, the trajectory of which to acquire the necessary knowledge, competences and experience warrants a longer traineeship experience. Certain traineeships that are part of active labour market policies aimed at the integration of persons in a vulnerable situation could also benefit from a longer duration. Some traineeships that are part of curricula of formal education or vocational education and training may have a longer duration for reasons linked to the curricula.

Change 13

ChangedRecital 30: (30) The obligation for employerstraineeship providers to include comprehensive and accessible information on the expected tasks, working conditions, including pay, social protection, learning and training elements, as well as the possibilities of recruitment after the completion of the traineeship in vacancy notices and advertisements could be fulfilled by providing a link to a website containing this information.

Recital 31: deleted

Change 14

RemovedRecital 32: (32) An extensive system of enforcement provisions for the social acquis in the Union has been developed in recent legal instruments, such as Directive (EU) 2019/1152 and Directive (EU) 2023/970. Such provisions should be included in this Directive to help ensure effective enforcement and defence of the rights of trainees stemming from this Directive and from other Union law. / 21 Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (OJ L 132, 17.5.2023, p. 21).

AddedRecital 31a (new): (31a) Member States should promote the recognition of traineeships as relevant work experience in private and public recruitment processes.

RemovedRecital 33: (33) Trainees should have access to effective and impartial dispute resolution and a right to redress, including adequate compensation. Trainees should be informed about the redress mechanisms for the purpose of exercising their right to redress. Having regard to the fundamental nature of the right to effective legal protection, trainees should continue to enjoy such protection even after the end of the traineeship giving rise to an alleged breach of rights under this Directive and other relevant Union law.

AddedRecital 32: (32) An extensive system of enforcement provisions for the social acquis in the Union has been developed in legal instruments, such as Directives 89/391/EEC, 2002/14/EC, 2003/88/EC, 2008/104/EC, 2018/957/EU, Directive (EU) 2019/1152, 2019/1158/EU, 2022/2041/EU and Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as well as Council Directives 97/81/EC, 1999/70/EC and 2000/78/EC. Such provisions should be included in this Directive to help ensure effective enforcement and defence of the rights of trainees stemming from this Directive and from other Union law applicable to workers. / 21 Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (OJ L 132, 17.5.2023, p. 21).

RemovedRecital 34: (34) To provide a more effective level of protection of trainees, workers’ representatives should be able to engage in proceedings in order to defend any of the rights and obligations arising from this Directive or from other Union law either on behalf or in support of one or several trainees.

AddedRecital 33: (33) Trainees should have access to effective and impartial dispute resolution and a right to redress, including adequate compensation. Trainees should be informed at the start of the traineeship about the redress mechanisms for the purpose of exercising their right to redress. Having regard to the fundamental nature of the right to effective legal protection, trainees should continue to enjoy such protection even after the end of the traineeship giving rise to an alleged breach of rights under this Directive and other relevant Union law applicable to workers.

AddedRecital 34: (34) To provide a more effective level of protection of trainees, workers’ representatives should be able to engage in proceedings in order to defend any of the rights and obligations arising from this Directive or from other Union law applicable to workers either on behalf or in support of one or several trainees.

Recital 35: (35) Trainees should be provided with adequate judicial and administrative protection against any adverse treatment or consequences in reaction to any complaint lodged with the traineeship provider or resulting from any proceedings initiated with the aim of enforcing compliance with the rights provided for in this Directive or in other Union law. In particular, trainees should be protected from dismissal or its equivalent, such as the withholding of an offer of future employment at the traineeship provider, and all preparations for dismissal or its equivalent for exercising the rights provided for in this Directive or in other Union law applicable to workers.

Change 15

RemovedRecital 38: (38) Since the objectives of this Directive, namely to provide a common definition of traineeships and to enforce working conditions of trainees and to combat abusive practices arising from the use of traineeships, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can, by reason of their scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

AddedRecital 35 a (new): (35a) The burden of proof with regard to establishing that there has been no dismissal or equivalent detriment on the grounds that trainees have exercised their rights provided for in this Directive or in other Union law applicable to workers, should fall on traineeship providers when trainees establish, before a court or other competent authority or body, facts from which it may be presumed that they have been dismissed, or have been subject to measures with equivalent effect, such as the withholding of an offer of future employment at the establishment of the traineeship provider, on such grounds. It should be possible for Member States not to apply that rule in proceedings in which the assessment of the facts is entrusted to a court or other competent authority or body, in particular in systems where dismissal has to be approved beforehand by such authority or body.

RemovedRecital 39 a (new): (39a) It is more important than ever to strive for an internal market with a level playing field without social dumping and with respect for social and employment rights. The Union supports Member States in their striving for collective bargaining and their freedom to maintain, conclude and enforce collective agreements where they are a better tool for implementing and complementing the Union’s legislative initiatives, in light of national practices and frameworks. In that respect, it is crucial to acknowledge the importance of the social partners and their right to negotiate and bargain collectively.

AddedRecital 36: (36) Member States should lay down rules on effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for cases of infringement of the rights provided for in the scope of this Directive. Penalties can include administrative and financial penalties, such as fines or the payment of adequate compensation, as well as other types of penalties.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1: This Directive lays down a common definition of traineeships and sets out a framework of principles and measures to improve and enforce the working conditions of trainees and to prevent abusive practices arising from the use of traineeships.

AddedRecital 36a (new): (36a) To ensure the effective monitoring and enforcement of this Directive on Union and national level, Member States should ensure adequate and timely data collection on the quality of traineeships, particularly through establishing effective data collection tools to provide comparative data, while being mindful of unnecessary reporting burden. As such data collection can pose challenges for traineeship providers, in particular micro and small enterprises, financial and practical support should be provided to them in line with the Commission communication of 12 September 2023 on an SME Relief Package.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) ‘Traineeship’ means a / (i) limited period of entry-level work aiming to provide practical and professional skills through significant training, with a view to facilitating the transition from education to stable employment, or accessing a profession, / on the basis of a written contract between the trainee and traineeship provider, / which is paid in accordance with the Directive (EU) 2022/2041;

AddedRecital 36 b (new): (36b) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Directive, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a / ––––––––––––––––– / 1a Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/182/oj).

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) ‘trainee’ means any person undertaking a traineeship.

AddedRecital 38: (38) Since the objectives of this Directive, namely to provide a common definition of traineeships, to improve and enforce the working conditions of trainees and the quality and accessibility of traineeships, to detect and combat practices that circumvent the purpose of traineeships and the use of standard employment relationships disguised as traineeships , cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can, by reason of their scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new): (ba) ‘traineeship provider’ means an undertaking which is private, public or both and which provides traineeships.