About PlainEmploy

PlainEmploy provides structured employment protection legislation (EPL) data from three authoritative international sources — the ILO Employment Protection Legislation database (EPLex), the World Bank Business Ready (B-READY) report, and the OECD EPL index — covering 145 countries. Our goal is to make comparative employment law data accessible to researchers, HR professionals, policy analysts, and anyone who needs to understand how countries regulate the employment relationship.

Our Data

Data comes from three authoritative international sources, each offering a complementary lens on employment protection:

  • ILO EPLex — Termination rules for 95 countries (2020 edition), scored 0–1
  • World Bank B-READY — Labor regulation quality for 101 economies (2025), scored 0–100
  • OECD EPL — Historical protection scores for 72 countries (1990–2019), scored 0–6
  • 145 unique countries — combined coverage across all three sources
  • 10,440+ country comparison pairs — side-by-side comparisons across every covered country

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How Each Source Measures Employment Protection

The three databases we draw from were built for different purposes, use different scales, and cover different countries. Understanding these differences is essential for interpreting the numbers on our country pages.

ILO EPLex (95 countries, 0–1 scale)

The ILO's Employment Protection Legislation database, launched in 2013, uses a binary and categorical schema that is converted into 0-to-1 composite scores at the topline. EPLex codes whether a country's statutes include specific provisions — prohibited grounds for dismissal, mandated notice periods, required severance pay, procedural steps before termination, and available redress mechanisms — and then aggregates these into sub-indicators like prohibited_dismissal, procedural_requirements, notice_periods, severance_pay, redundancy_pay, and redress. The composite score averages these sub-indicators. EPLex was designed to support the ILO's technical cooperation programs with member-state labor ministries, so it prioritizes broad coverage across diverse legal traditions (common law, civil law, mixed systems) over fine-grained ordinal ranking.

World Bank B-READY (101 economies, 0–100 scale)

B-READY (Business Ready), launched in 2024 as the successor to the discontinued Doing Business reports, evaluates the labor regulatory environment on a 0 to 100 scale across three pillars: regulatory framework quality, public services availability, and operational efficiency. The efficiency pillar (pillar3_efficiency) combines observed time-and-cost measurements — including weeks_to_dismiss, weeks_severance, and the share of firms reporting labor disputes — into a single indexed score. B-READY data comes from a firm survey of approximately 50 firms per country in the principal commercial city, which limits subnational precision but enables cross-country comparability on concrete operational metrics.

OECD EPL (72 countries, 0–6 scale)

The OECD's Employment Protection Legislation index, originally constructed in 1999 by economists Stefano Scarpetta and Andrea Bassanini, uses a cardinal 0 to 6 scale with 21 sub-indicators that allow direct cross-country averaging. The four main pillars are:

  • Overall EPL — A composite combining all three sub-pillars into a single employment protection score.
  • Individual Regular Employment (EPR) — Rules governing dismissal of workers on permanent contracts, including notice periods, severance pay, and procedural requirements.
  • Individual Temporary Employment (EPT) — Regulations on fixed-term contracts, temporary agency work, and restrictions on temporary arrangements.
  • Collective Dismissals (EPC) — Additional obligations triggered when an employer dismisses multiple workers simultaneously, such as notification to authorities and worker consultation.

The OECD index was designed for cross-country GDP-growth and unemployment regressions, so statistical comparability across a relatively homogeneous OECD sample matters more than covering every legal tradition. Scores reflect the law as written; enforcement practices may vary by jurisdiction.

Why the same country can have very different scores

A country that scores 0.45 on EPLex, 1.66 on OECD EPR, and 52.6 on B-READY efficiency is not contradictory — each metric measures a different slice of employment regulation on a different scale. EPLex codes the presence or absence of statutory provisions. OECD scores the strictness of those provisions on an ordinal scale. B-READY measures the operational efficiency of dismissal processes from the employer's perspective. Researchers comparing countries across sources should consult the methodology documentation from each institution before drawing conclusions.

Data Currency and Update Schedule

Each source updates on its own cycle. The ILO EPLex 2020 edition is the latest release; prior editions cover 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013. The World Bank B-READY 2025 edition was published in fall 2025; annual updates are expected. The OECD EPL database currently covers data through 2019, with major update waves in 1985, 1990, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2019. We present data as published by each institution and update our database when new editions are released.

Historical time series from the OECD (1990 onward) and EPLex (2007 onward) allow analysis of how employment protections have evolved in each country over time. B-READY, being a newer series, does not yet have a multi-year trend line.

Not Affiliated

PlainEmploy is not affiliated with the ILO, World Bank, OECD, or any government agency. We are an independent data portal that republishes publicly available data from these three sources in a more accessible, searchable format. All source data is attributed on every page.

About Kiznis.Studio

PlainEmploy is part of Kiznis.Studio, a portfolio of free, data-driven web portals built on authoritative government and international organization data. Our portals transform raw datasets into searchable, well-organized pages that answer real questions — no paywalls, no accounts required.

Important Disclaimer

PlainEmploy provides employment protection data drawn from three authoritative international sources: the International Labour Organization (ILO EPLex), the World Bank (Business Ready / B-READY indicators), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD EPL index). This information is for general reference only and does not constitute legal advice. Employment laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. These indices reflect the state of written law and may not capture enforcement practices, recent legislative changes, or jurisdiction-specific nuances. Always consult a qualified employment attorney for advice specific to your situation.

Editorial Independence

Content on PlainEmploy is compiled by our editorial team. Raw data from the ILO Employment Protection Legislation database (EPLex), the World Bank Business Ready (B-READY) indicators, and the OECD Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) index is transformed into readable country profiles by our continuous editorial pipeline, validated against the source before publication. The PlainEmploy editorial team, operating under Kiznis Studio, is responsible for editorial standards, methodology, and corrections.

We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from employers, agencies, or any labor-market entity. Our only revenue source is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense — advertisers do not influence which entities we cover or how we present data, and they do not receive preferential placement.

Contact

For questions, feedback, or data corrections, email hello@plainemploy.com.