As our social security systems were geared for a time when most of us worked full-time for the same employer for years, it may be time for our social protections to evolve as much as our work life has!

To better understand the lay of the European landscape, here is our crash course

Social Protection - or the lack of it!

• Of the four out of 10 Europeans in temporary work or self-employed, those in their twenties are mainly in temporary or 'no contract' jobs and their number is also double that of other age groups.

• Women tend to be in fixed term or part-time work while more men are self-employed, with 45 percent being over the age of 55.

• Eleven countries in Europe have no unemployment protection for the self-employed.

• In 10 countries, they aren't covered for workplace accidents and in 3, they have no sickness benefits.

• Non-standard contract workers may have similar rights to those in standard work, but for them, accessing protections is hard due to tough eligibility criteria.

• But casual, seasonal or on-demand workers, or those on temporary agency contracts, may not have any statutory access to social protections at all.

What am I entitled to?

Across Europe, workers who don't have full-time jobs have to figure out a minefield. How do I access unemployment benefits, healthcare, maternity, old age or accident benefits? What is accessible? What is not? And what is available in which country?

Even a country like the Netherlands, fifth in Europe for the sheer number of self-employed in its labour market (Greece tops the list), is in a conundrum about how to give these economic contributors a level playing field with those in full-time jobs.

The Netherlands has generous social protection for employees.

Yet the picture is more complicated than that.

Real Economy reporter Fanny Gauret met one self-employed young man with no employees.

Like more than two-thirds in his situation in the country, he has no insurance to make up for loss of income in case of sickness or disability.

"It is just too expensive to pay," said the self-employed food delivery rider and member of the riders' union, who preferred to remain anonymous.

"You get paid per order, for example 2 orders per hour, which is, for me, more or less the average. If you would pay your insurance then you would only have 4-5 euros per hour left. So that’s why a lot of riders just don’t have an insurance."

With digital platforms multiplying and a more flexible labour market, self-employed workers now represent around 14% of the workforce in Europe - that is some 30 million workers.

The Netherlands is among the European states with the biggest increase in self-employed workers. But are they all protected from the hazards of life?

"You have the real entrepreneurs. By that, I mean people who make profits," explained Mies Westerveld, Associate Professor of Labour Law at the University of Amsterdam.

"And you have what we call false self-employed or very vulnerable self-employed. I think we need legislation that organises solidarity between good risks and bad risks, people with more money and less money, so people who don't earn that much can get protection."

Self-help: Creating a 'Bread Fund'

For peace of mind, self-employed ICT worker Nick Cohn has joined forces with 20 or so counterparts, to create a 'Broodfond' - 'Bread Fund' in English.

"A Broodfond is a group of people who get together to support each other financially, should they become sick and not be able to work," he told 'Real Economy'.

This community-based solidarity system, based on trust, has attracted some 17,000 people in 380 different groups.

"My normal insurance costs me €350 per month," Nick explained.

"Actually, what I will have to put into the Broodfond'will be €125 or so. I know myself and from people who have gotten sick, their normal sickness insurance has been very, very difficult about paying out. And I want to avoid that."