Recalls – Flexibility at the Expense or to the Benefit of Employees Effects of Temporary Layoffs on Employees in the German Labor Market

Susanne Edler presents research that reveals that employment relations after recalls are less protected by labor market regulations and more exposed to the competitive market processes than continuously employed workers that grant wage premiums (rents) due to their higher shielding from the competitive labor market.

Recalls (also known as ‘temporary layoffs’) are used as employment strategy in the German labor market for handling fluctuations in the need of labor. Susanne Edler presents research that reveals that employment relations after recalls are less protected by labor market regulations and more exposed to the competitive market processes than continuously employed workers that grant wage premiums (rents) due to their higher shielding from the competitive labor market. However, compared to other discontinuous employment relations temporary layoffs can be the better alternative since employers as well as employees make use of their transaction-specific investments in human capital and thereby generate ‘composite rents.’
Contents• Recall-Employment as Form of Flexible Employment• Closure Mechanisms – Explanations of Labor Market Inequality• Employment Patterns of Recalled Workers• Earnings Differences • Differencesin Supervisors’ and Coworkers’ Support
Target Groups• Lecturers and students in sociology, economic and political science• Practitioners in economics and political consulting
The AuthorSusanne Edler is a postdoc student in the ERC-funded project – "The Resurgence in Wage Inequality and Technological Change: A New Approach" – at the University of Haifa. Her research interest is the role of employment strategies and technological change as well as occupational barriers in generating wage inequalities.



Recalls (also known as ‘temporary layoffs’) are used as employment strategy in the German labor market for handling fluctuations in the need of labor. Susanne Edler presents research that reveals that employment relations after recalls are less protected by labor market regulations and more exposed to the competitive market processes than continuously employed workers that grant wage premiums (rents) due to their higher shielding from the competitive labor market. However, compared to other discontinuous employment relations temporary layoffs can be the better alternative since employers as well as employees make use of their transaction-specific investments in human capital and thereby generate ‘composite rents.’