Rights, mobility and integration of intra-corporate transferees in Europe : the case of Slovakia and England

This thesis is placed at the intersection of international labour law, EU law, human rights and migration. It focuses on workers employed and transferred temporarily across borders by multinational corporations within their company structure – intra-corporate transferees (ICTs) – and on their family members. The thesis analyses the protection of their economic, labour and social rights from the perspective of equality and integration. The work examines and compares the level of rights protection granted to EU nationals and third-country (non-EU) national ICTs in Slovakia and England under the national law and policy, EU law, human rights law, and international labour law. The study involves doctrinal and theoretical considerations of the law and policy relating to the protection of rights of ICTs and their families, which are then contrasted with accounts of ICTs’ practical experiences within these legal and policy frameworks, obtained through interviews conducted in Slovakia and England. The aim is to identify the differences in rights protection guaranteed in law and as experienced in practice in each country, and to compare the diverse approaches in the two countries and at EU level (through the Intra-Corporate Transfers Directive) to find the weaknesses and strengths of each system. This comparative exercise enables an identification of the best practices, which could serve as an inspiration for policy makers in Slovakia, England, at EU level and for ICTs’ employers regarding improvements of their rights protection, integration, and experience during the intra-corporate transfer.