The employment relationship

The employment relationship is a concept that is familiar in countries around the world, irrespective of the differences in national legal systems. It refers to the relationship between an employee (or worker) and an employer, for whom the employee/worker performs work under specified conditions and in exchange for remuneration. The employment relationship gives rise to reciprocal rights and obligations between the employer and the employee under national legislation. Access to employment-related rights and benefits is secured through the vehicle of the employment relationship.

Rapid changes in the labour market, particularly due to factors such as globalization, digitalization and other technological innovations, are affecting the way we work. As a result, new and emerging forms of work are being created which do not necessarily fit within the traditional notion of the employment relationship.

The employment relationship has served as a basis for a series of discussions in the ILO that have examined a range of working relationships, including those of self-employed workers, migrant workers, homeworkers, private employment agency (temporary) workers, workers in cooperatives, workers in the informal economy, the fishing sector, domestic workers and digital platform workers.