The deregulation of labour law in the European Union was thought to be a spur to lasting growth of employment and an increase in labour market efficiency. This book reveals that the results of such policies have been far from those expected.This study provides a country by country overview of the legal regulations concerning employment protection and fixed-term employment in the twelve Member States of the European Union (prior to its expansion in 1995). Employment patterns of fixed-term employees are compared with those of employees in standard employment relationships, with the analytical focus on age-, gender- and industry specific differences. The authors then look beyond country-specific patterns and assess the probability of fixed-term employment within the European Union. They offer hypotheses concerning the impact upon the labour market of deregulation and of regulation.This is a valuable discussion of how legal, sociological and economic labour market theories contribute to an understanding of atypical employment.