The extension of social security to trainees: towards protection of socially useful work?

This article critically examines the legal frameworks governing the social protection of traineeships in the European Union, with a focus on their ambiguous status between training and employment. While traineeships have become a widespread and a growing feature of labour market entry for young people, they often fall outside the scope of labour law and social security protections, particularly when not undertaken under a formal employment contract. Drawing on EU legal instruments and national case studies from Germany, France, Finland and Spain, the article explores the extent to which traineeships are treated as non-productive yet socially useful activities deserving of protection. It argues that, despite their educational framing, many traineeships involve economically valuable work and should be reclassified accordingly. The analysis reveals that most of the analysed regulatory approaches reinforce a productivist logic, granting protection primarily when traineeships resemble standard employment. This also reinforces the use of traineeships as precarious forms of work, impacting upon the ability of young persons to access decent work.