Regulatory Instruments and Policies for Sustainable Transitions in the Post-Pandemic Labour Market

The chapter addresses the regulatory instruments and policies enacted or under discussion, particularly in EU countries, under the conceptual frameworks of “sustainability” and “just transitions”, to tackle the structural changes of the labour market that the pandemic has partially caused and partially unveiled. It is divided into three parts, respectively focused on three welfare instruments that address different but complementary labour market issues. The first one considers the public schemes of income support based on social transfer and how they can tackle the problem of poverty. The second analyses job retention schemes established to govern “in-work” transitions during periods of partial or total employment discontinuity. The final section concludes with a reflection on changing paradigms and strategies of public investment in labour market policies.