Precarious work is a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained solely by legal or economic considerations. Rather, it is a multifaceted issue, deeply intertwined with social, economic, legal, cultural, and other factors. This master's thesis focuses specifically on the cost of labour as an influential factor in the prevalence of precarious work. For the purposes of this thesis, the operational definition of precariousness includes: self-employed persons (sole proprietors) without employees, employees on fixed-term contracts, involuntary part-time workers, and agency workers. In the calculation of labour costs, the difference considered is between the employer’s actual costs, including mandatory reimbursement of work-related expenses, prescribed by law, and the employee’s actual net payment to their bank account. In Slovenia, the labour cost for standard employment in 2025 amounts to 41.59 %, whereas for the most favourable atypical alternative (flat-rate sole proprietorship) it amounts to 23.09 %. The rate of precarious work in Slovenia for 2024 is 24.72 %. A comparative legal approach was applied to answer the research question – thus, labour costs and the prevalence of precarious work were analysed in three additional countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, and Denmark. In all three cases, a correlation was confirmed. In the Czech Republic, the cost of standard employment is 3.62 % lower and the rate of precarious work 5.55 % lower. In Germany, the cost of standard employment is 4.18 % lower and the rate of precarious work 9.25 % lower. In Denmark, the cost of standard employment is 10.82 % lower and the rate of precarious work 7.94 % lower. An important factor in the analysis of labour costs is the model of social security. Slovenia, Germany, and the Czech Republic on the one hand have implemented the Bismarck model of social insurance, which is based on social security contributions collected in dedicated public funds from which social security benefits are financed. Denmark, on the other hand, has implemented the Beveridge model of social security, which is based on general taxes collected within the state budget, from which social security benefits are financed. An analysis of OECD country labour costs indicates that, on average, countries with the Beveridge model of social security have somewhat lower labour costs, although this shortfall is offset by other sources of taxation. The OECD recommended Slovenia in both 2014 and again in 2024 to reduce labour costs, as they negatively affect employment policy and economic development. The cost of labour is undoubtedly one of the factors influencing the level of precarious work, but it cannot be claimed to be the only factor.
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