Introduction. Social rights belong to the second generation of human rights and freedoms, they ensure social security, all-round development of the individual. They are widely represented in the national legislation of the countries of the European Union, primarily in the relevant legislation. However, the same cannot be said about constitutional law, which is associated with different approaches of legal scholars and proven practices in the legal regulation of the implementation of social guarantees in a particular state. The methodological basis of the work was formed by general scientific and special legal research methods. Theoretical analysis. In the scientific European literature there is no single approach to the definition of basic social rights, their essence, types, legal consequences. Moreover, there are fundamentally opposite points of view about the need for their recognition and consolidation at the constitutional level. Thus, the discussion is on in individual states and the European Union as a whole. In the legal doctrine of a number of countries, for example Germany, broad and narrow approaches are used to define social rights. At the same time, at the pan-European level, a broad approach is mainly used, which draws attention to the presence of social guarantees in the Constitutions and, accordingly, state target programs of a social orientation. Empirical analysis. In general, the Constitutions of the EU countries enshrine certain social rights, which may differ in the actual form of their expression in constitutional acts. This form depends on legal approaches, traditions, historical path, economic and political experience of the state. Meanwhile, the point of view about the need to recognize social rights at the highest level, despite the existing criticism, became decisive during their subsequent inclusion in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Results. The working document of the European Parliament distinguishes between three systems for integrating social rights into the Basic Law: liberal (for example, Austria), moderate (for example, Germany) and southern European (typical of Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece). At the same time, the comparison shows that for the realization of the rights of the second and third generations, constitutional consolidation is not enough; a socio-political consensus is needed, reflected through the normative legal acts adopted by the legislative body. In the European Union, attempts are being made to expand social guarantees, which face the rejection of the concept of unification of social rights by individual member states.