Call for good practices 2026

1. Overview

1.1. ELA good practice collection and dissemination

The European Labour Authority (ELA) is pleased to launch the fifth edition of the call for good practices, continuing its initiative to identify, collect and disseminate effective and inspiring practices in areas falling within ELA’s mandate.

The initiative aims to promote mutual learning and knowledge exchange among EU Member States and EEA countries, and to support the uptake and transfer of proven successful and innovative approaches at national, regional and local level.

The main areas covered by the call are:

• free movement of workers,
• posting of workers,
• social security coordination,
• social aspects of road transport, and
• tackling undeclared work.

Each year, the call also highlights specific thematic priorities listed below, reflecting ELA’s sectoral or cross-sectoral focus areas.  

All selected practices will be published in ELA Database of good practices, available on ELA’s website from early 2026. In addition, a limited number of practices may, following ELA’s internal assessment, be identified as exemplary and their representatives invited to present them at a high-level ELA event.  

1.2. What is a good practice?

For the purposes of this call, a good practice is a policy or operational measure – such as a tool, campaign, procedure or policy initiative – that:

• targets a clearly identified group,
• pursues a clear and well-defined objective,
• is visible, accessible and user-friendly for the intended beneficiaries,
• is supported by sustainable funding and clear organisational arrangements, and
• delivers measurable results, or clearly improves outcomes compared to existing approaches.

A good practice may consist of a single instrument or a coherent set of measures. While it does not need to be part of a formal public policy or strategy, it should be aligned with a broader policy or operational context and address clearly identified challenges. Its design and delivery should be tailored to the needs of the target group and the pursued objectives.

In addition, good practices should typically reflect one or more of the following principles:

• inclusivity, ensuring equal access and consideration of diverse groups;
• stakeholder involvement, including cooperation between public authorities, social partners and other relevant actors;
• replicability and transferability, allowing adaptation in other contexts or countries;
• evidence-based design, drawing on data and evaluation results. 

2. Priorities for 2026

2.1. The areas identified as priorities for the 2026 call for good practices are the following:

• Youth and students: apprenticeships and first job in the EU and EEA

Young people entering the labour market – such as students, recent graduates, trainees and apprentices – often face practical and informational barriers when considering their first work experience in another EU or EEA country. Despite the existence of EU-level mobility and matching services, many young people require more targeted measures and hands-on support to turn mobility opportunities into concrete employment outcomes.

Through this priority, ELA seeks to identify practical and innovative practices that facilitate the transition from education or training into a first job abroad. This may include, for example, transnational or cross-border apprenticeship schemes, cooperation between universities, VET providers and Public Employment Services, campus-based mobility hubs, structured onboarding models for first-time mobile workers, or tools that help young people understand labour-market trends, skills in demand and practical aspects of working abroad.

Practices should demonstrate sustainable cooperation models and clear benefits for young people and employers, and may involve EURES Members and Partners, education and training institutions, social partners, employers, youth organisations or career-advice services.

• Strengthening accessible and cross-border information provision in the long-term care sector

As demand for long-term care (LTC) services continues to grow across the EU and EEA, mobile workers – including EU citizens and posted third-country nationals – play an increasingly important role in meeting labour needs in the sector. At the same time, LTC is characterised by complex regulatory frameworks, diverse employment arrangements and significant differences in national practices, making access to clear and reliable information particularly important.

Through this priority, ELA seeks to identify effective and user-oriented information practices that raise awareness among key stakeholders – such as workers, employers (including households), labour market intermediaries, social partners and professional organisations – of their rights, obligations and relevant administrative processes in cross-border and intra-EU labour mobility situations. Practices may also address the specific needs of mobile care workers and the sector-specific requirements applicable in different countries.

Submitted practices should contribute to high-quality, inclusive and transferable solutions that support fair and effective labour mobility in the LTC sector and demonstrate added value for end users by improving access to relevant, accurate and practical information.

• PD A1 digital portals: user-friendly, accessible, efficient and interoperable solutions

While online PD A1 portals are now widely available across Member States, significant differences persist in portal usability, accessibility for cross-border users, degree of automation, integration with administrative registers, and interoperability with EU-level systems. Such differences have a direct impact on administrative workload, processing times and legal certainty for mobile workers, employers and competent institutions.

Through this priority, ELA seeks to identify innovative, evidence-based and replicable solutions that improve front-end application processes and back-end administrative handling of PD A1 applications, reduce administrative burden, increase efficiency and transparency, and strengthen cooperation and trust between Member States, while supporting reliable and compliant decision-making.

Submitted practices may include, inter alia, solutions addressing:

• User-friendliness and accessibility, such as intuitive portal design, pre-filled or reusable data from national portals or previous applications, real-time application tracking, bulk requests, multilingual interfaces, support tools (e.g. help functions or chatbots), digital handling of changes occurring during the posting period, and mechanisms facilitating access and intelligibility for foreign users.
• Automated and efficient processing, including rule-based decision engines, robotic process automation (RPA), potentially supported by API connections to national tax, revenue or business registration databases, plausibility and overlap checks, and partial or full automation of standard cases assessment.
• Interoperability and data retrieval mechanisms, such as automated or semi-automated data queries from internal or external administrative registers, reduced reliance on applicant-provided documentation, and secure system-to-system connectivity with relevant national institutions and stakeholders.

• Integration with EU-level and cross-institutional tools, including interconnection with EESSI by automated triggering of posting notifications (SED A009), digital solutions enabling online verification of the authenticity and validity of issued PD A1 documents, and platforms facilitating data sharing of PD A1 records and analysis with enforcement authorities.

   

• Undeclared work  

In recent years, the European Platform tackling undeclared work has identified more than one hundred inspiring and relevant practices. Since 2025, the collection of such practices has been fully integrated into the single ELA call. There is no limitation on the type of measures or initiatives addressing undeclared work, and a broad range of thematic areas is welcome. This year, we are particularly interested in good practices concerning the Manufacturing sector.

Good practices may include deterrence or preventive measures, policy initiatives, or approaches that encourage behavioural change toward declared work. They can be implemented nationally or across borders and may be horizontal, multisectoral, or sectorspecific.

Examples include actions related to recruitment and hiring (including crossborder channels, posting, temporary agency work, subcontracting chains, and reducing bogus selfemployment); improving working conditions and compliance; enhancing enforcement and inspection cooperation; and developing innovative information and communication tools to help workers and employers understand rights and obligations in manufacturing subsectors.

In addition to the priorities outlined above, ELA also welcomes submissions on other topics falling within the scope of EU labour mobility, including areas addressed in previous ELA calls for good practices. 

3. How to participate

3.1. Who can apply?

The call for good practices is open to public authorities and other relevant stakeholders operating at national, regional or local level in EU Member States, EEA and other countries in the EURES network.

Eligible applicants include, inter alia, ministries and public administrations, labour inspectorates, social security institutions, Public Employment Services (PES), EURES Members and Partners, social partners, civil society organisations, and other bodies active in areas falling within ELA’s mandate.

3.2. How to submit a good practice?

Go to ELA resources platform

Before you start

A valid EU Login account is required to access the ELA database of good practices and submit an application.

Applicants should ensure that the contact person indicated in the application is available to be contacted by ELA at a later stage. If the good practice is selected, the contact person will be asked to provide additional information and, if needed, further elaborate the practice for publication in the ELA good practice database.  

Key steps in the submission process

Step 1 – Access the ELA database of good practices 
Applicants access the ELA database of good practices via the ELA resources platform and log in using EU Login. Once logged in, applicants select the ELA database of good practices module and choose the relevant country.  

Step 2 – Create a new application 
In the Apply for a good practice section, applicants create a new application by completing the online application form. The form allows applicants to:

• enter key information about the practice,
• select one or more relevant priority topics, and
• save the application as a draft for later editing, if needed.  

Applicants may submit multiple good practice proposals, provided that a separate application form is completed for each submission.

Step 3 – Submit the application to ELA 
Once the application is complete, applicants submit it electronically by selecting “Submit to ELA”. After submission, the application status changes to Submitted. Applicants can view, filter or delete submitted applications through the platform.  

Step 4 – Follow-up and elaboration (if selected) 
If an application is selected by ELA, the designated contact person will receive an email notification with instructions to access the platform and further develop the good practice. This stage may include responding to ELA comments, providing additional details, and preparing the practice for publication.  

Step 5 – Validation and publication 
Once the good practice has been finalised and approved by the applicant, ELA will proceed with validation and publication in the ELA good practice database. The contact person will be notified at each key stage of the process. 

Detailed instructions on the submission process are available in this applicant guide.  

3.3. What is the deadline for submitting good practices?

The call for good practices is a recurring annual initiative. Good practices may be submitted each year in line with the priorities and deadline specified for the relevant call.

The deadline for submitting applications under the 2026 call for good practices is on 18 May 2026. 

4. Selection of exemplary practices

Among the good practices submitted, ELA will identify a limited number of exemplary practices through an internal evaluation process. The evaluation aims to ensure a transparent, consistent and fair assessment of practices across different thematic areas and types of intervention. 

Each good practice will be assessed by ELA against the following selection criteria, taking into account the nature, objectives and scope of the practice: 

• Achievements and outcomes 

The extent to which the practice demonstrates credible and meaningful results in relation to its stated objectives. Assessment will place particular emphasis on the quality and credibility of the evidence provided to demonstrate impact. This may include both quantitative indicators and well-substantiated qualitative evidence where quantitative data is not available. 

• Innovation and added value 

The degree to which the practice introduces new or significantly improved approaches, methods or solutions, and demonstrates clear added value compared to standard or existing practices. The innovation may be legal, organisational, procedural or digital and does not necessarily require new technology.  

• Sustainability and resource efficiency 

The extent to which the practice is viable and maintainable over time, including its institutional anchoring, funding arrangements and ability to continue beyond a pilot or project phase. The scale or budget of the practice is not a determining factor. 

• Stakeholder involvement and governance 

The appropriateness and effectiveness of stakeholder involvement, including the roles and coordination of public authorities, social partners and other relevant actors, as well as engagement with target groups and final beneficiaries. 

• Transferability and scalability 

The potential for the practice to be replicated or adapted in other national, regional, sectoral or institutional contexts. 

• Digitalisation (cross-cutting element) 

Digitalisation is assessed as a cross-cutting element and is not mandatory. Where relevant, particular attention will be given to practices that make effective and innovative use of digital tools, systems or data to improve access, efficiency, compliance or cooperation. Practices without a digital component will not be disadvantaged. 

Exemplary practices will be selected based on their overall quality, coherence and learning value, with the aim of inspiring others and supporting the exchange of effective solutions across participating countries. 

5. Personal data protection

Any personal data included in or relating to this call, including its publication shall be processed by the European Labour Authority pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.

It shall be processed solely for the purposes of the performance, management and monitoring of this Call by the European Labour Authority without prejudice to possible transmission to the bodies charged with a monitoring or inspection task in conformity with Union law.

The data subject shall have the right of access to her/his personal data and the right to rectify any such data. Should the data subject have any queries concerning the processing of her/his personal data, the data subject shall address them to the Unit organising this call (Cooperation Support Unit, Capacity Building Sector). The data subject shall have right of recourse at any time to the European Data Protection Supervisor.

ELA Data Protection Officer (DPO) publishes the register of all processing operations on personal data by ELA, which have been documented and notified to her. You may access the register via the following link. 

This specific processing operation has been included in the DPO’s public register with the following record reference.

For any questions related to this call, please contact: capacityela [dot] europa [dot] eu (capacity[at]ela[dot]europa[dot]eu)