Well functioning factor markets are a crucial condition for the competitiveness and growth of agriculture. In the case of labour, institutions and regulation may give rise to agricultural labour market heterogeneity which could have important effects on the functioning of the labour market and other agricultural factor markets in EU Member States. At the same time, the functioning of the labour market and markets for other factors of production are influenced by changes in agriculture and the rural economy and in EU policies. This paper first defines the institutional framework for the labour market. Following on from this a brief literature review of previous studies of labour market institutional frameworks is presented. The paper identifies the most important elements of the labour market institutional framework to be further analysed. Based on the literature, a survey to characterise the agricultural labour markets was undertaken. This survey was implemented for a selection of EU27 and EU candidate countries, with responses based upon expert opinion. In turn the survey data was used to construct indices of labour market flexibility/rigidity for the countries examined. These indices were then used to make inter-country labour market comparisons and to draw inferences about the institutions and functioning of the agricultural labour market.