Income support policies for "weak" liberal professionals: A pathway for coordinated conditions in a common market? Defining and protecting autonomous work

This chapter deals with the income support issue from the less-explored perspective of the "weak" liberal professionals. It first provides some statistical data on liberal professionals suffering, in Europe, situations like financial hardship or low monthly income. Afterwards, the author explores possible solutions through a comparative legal analysis addressing Italy, Spain, and France. The focus is, first, on structured juridical frameworks protecting liberal professionals from "strong" customers, also including measures for minimum duration of service agreements, enhanced contrast to unfair contract terms, and minimum thresholds for compensations. At a later stage, the analysis moves on to unemployment benefit schemes. The second part of the study examines income support policies individuated by the comparative analysis, and in particular minimum thresholds for compensations, through the lens of EU antitrust law. The contribution ends with a reflection on the solutions offered by the EU legal framework to promote and coordinate income support policies for weak liberal professionals in all the Member States.