tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/employment-rights-7559/articlesEmployment rights – The Conversation2024-01-10T17:17:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2206112024-01-10T17:17:52Z2024-01-10T17:17:52ZWorkers in Argentina face the biggest blow to their employment rights since the military dictatorship of the 1970s<p>When he was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/20/argentina-presidential-election-far-right-libertarian-javier-milei-wins-after-rival-concedes">elected as president</a> of Argentina in November 2023, Javier Milei was seen by many voters as a political outsider. An economist by profession, he promised <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2023/nov/20/javier-milei-who-is-argentina-new-president-video-profile">a reset for the country</a> which would end inflation and slash public spending. </p>
<p>Amid <a href="https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-09/javier-milei-holds-mass-rally-in-argentina-the-political-caste-is-afraid-do-you-want-to-scare-them-a-little-more.html">diatribes against politicians</a> and dismissals of the climate emergency as a <a href="https://english.elpais.com/climate/2023-11-30/climate-denier-in-the-casa-rosada-mileis-arrival-puts-argentinas-environmental-agenda-at-risk.html">“socialist lie”</a>, he was keen on <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-argentinian-president-javier-milei-promises-to-take-a-chainsaw-to-countrys-crippled-economy-218155">wielding a chainsaw</a> to symbolise his plans for fixing a stagnant economy burdened with debt.</p>
<p>And since he took office, Milei has been busy with his agenda of cutting. Within weeks he had published an 82-page <a href="https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/301122/20231221">executive decree</a> as an inaugural phase of his extensive deregulation. </p>
<p>The decree is designed to fundamentally change Argentinian society, directly affecting the rights and protections of millions of workers. It has already prompted comparisons with <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-politics-explainer-pinochets-chile-100659">General Augusto Pinochet’s</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GerardoMunck/status/1737782463865221282">deregulation of the Chilean economy</a> in the 1970s.</p>
<p>One section of Milei’s decree aims to limit the right to strike, the right of assembly and the right to collective bargaining. It would alter trade unions’ financial standing, workers’ healthcare provision and basic rights such as maternity leave. </p>
<p>This is all presented as a way of streamlining the labour market, to improve economic dynamism and growth. It is also seen as a way to dismantle the ideology of rights and protections which Milei and his allies rail against.</p>
<p>But despite the rhetoric, there is no evidence that reforms of this kind in the region have created jobs or improved the labour market dynamic. Instead, evidence suggests they merely <a href="https://www.ilo.org/americas/publicaciones/WCMS_190387/lang--en/index.htm">increase levels</a> of poor quality employment. </p>
<p>Milei’s decree was swiftly followed by a 664-article <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p2IAankBJVcjSS-1mKmkFZSOK8jG835m/view">reform bill</a> covering a vast range of issues, including the privatisation of 41 public companies (including the state-run oil company YPF), changes to the electoral system and the introduction of new taxes. </p>
<p>It also contains a declaration of emergency, not just in the economy, but in matters of security, energy and health (and many others). To address this, Milei is seeking to delegate legislative powers to the executive (himself) for at least two years. </p>
<p>This would mean he could sidestep parliament for pretty much everything he wants to do, reasoning that institutional democratic decision making is just too slow. Arguing in favour of these special powers, one of Milei’s senior <a href="https://twitter.com/Ambitocom/status/1744817632564400614">allies stated</a>: “If there is an economic crisis there will not be a valid constitution.” Severe ills demand, in their view, unconventional remedies. </p>
<p>It would also suit Milei from a political perspective. Despite securing 55.6% of the votes in the run-off election, his coalition holds a minority of seats in both chambers of Argentina’s parliament. Executive power would mean being able to avoid needed negotiations with other parties. </p>
<h2>Legal challenges</h2>
<p>But the president is facing opposition to his plans. More than <a href="https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/se-presentaron-mas-de-40-amparos-para-declarar-la-inconstitucionalidad-del-dnu-de-milei-nid05012024/">40 legal challenges</a> have been filed claiming Milei’s decree is unconstitutional, while a court suspended the labour reform chapter of his decree, questioning its necessity and urgency. </p>
<p>Outside of the courts, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), the most important union federation in the country, have <a href="https://buenosairesherald.com/politics/argentinas-trade-union-federations-call-for-national-strike-on-january-24#:%7E:text=Argentina%E2%80%99s%20trade%20union%20federation%20called%20for%20a%20national,Congress%2C%20according%20to%20a%20communiqu%C3%A9%20released%20on%20Thursday.">called for a national strike</a> on January 24 and there have been <a href="https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-12-21/tens-of-thousands-of-argentines-protest-against-milei-amidst-strong-security-measures.html">protests in the streets</a>.</p>
<p>Elsewhere though, Milei has received backing for some of his plans <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-offers-argentinas-milei-support-imf-lithium-white-house-adviser-2023-12-10/">from the US</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67688727">the IMF</a> and other <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/election-victory-argentinas-milei-greeted-globally-by-mix-hostility-support-2023-11-21/">right wing politicians</a>. </p>
<p>As for Argentina’s workers, at stake over the coming weeks and months is a fresh setback in rights and the imposition of a working environment similar to that experienced after the <a href="https://theconversation.com/four-decades-after-coup-people-power-is-driving-change-in-argentina-54973">military take-over of 1976</a>. For among the killings and disappearances of that era, a top priority for the dictatorship was regressively reforming labour relations.</p>
<p>Immediately after taking power, the military extensively trimmed down employment regulations. They took control of unions, froze their funds and prohibited all forms of collective bargaining.</p>
<p>Rights connected with joining trade unions, collective action and strikes were suspended. Employers’ power was regenerated and discipline revived. Our research reveals that the consequences were a <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-18301-1">profound restructurin</a>g of capital labour relations, to the <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469666037/">detriment of workers</a>. </p>
<p>Milei appears determined to make changes of a similar magnitude, under the claim that there is no alternative. If successful, bypassing democratic institutions, liberalising markets at any social cost and engaging in a war against rights and protections will undoubtedly alter Argentinian society. But it will not make Argentina “great again” as he <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-12-10/argentine-libertarian-milei-to-take-presidency-with-economic-crisis-in-focus#:%7E:text=%22We%20are%20going%20to%20put%20the%20country%20back,the%20rebirth%20of%20a%20prosperous%20and%20liberal%20Argentina.%22">has promised</a>. </p>
<p>What happens next remains uncertain. But the new president’s barrage of measures will affect millions of lives. And in doing so, they may well provoke resistance, strengthen social solidarity and potentially reopen a democratic discussion about an alternative path.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220611/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luciana Zorzoli was a doctoral and postdoctoral fellow of Argentina's National Council for Scientific and Technical Research. </span></em></p>The protests against Javier Milei have lready begun.Luciana Zorzoli, Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations, Essex Business School, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1800542022-03-25T17:56:52Z2022-03-25T17:56:52ZP&O Ferries: how some companies can afford to break the law<p>A week after 800 P&O Ferries workers lost their jobs without notice, the CEO of the company is now <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60872294">facing calls</a> to lose his. Peter Hebblethwaite is under pressure from the UK government to resign after he <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar/24/po-ferries-boss-says-800-staff-were-sacked-because-no-union-would-accepts-its-plans">admitted</a> the company had broken the law. </p>
<p>Facing questions over the video call sacking of his employees, Hebblethwaite said P&O had decided not to engage with trade unions in advance of the move, in breach of UK employment law. He told a parliamentary hearing: “There’s absolutely no doubt we were required to consult with the unions. We chose not to do that.” </p>
<p>He added: “It was our assessment that […] no union could accept our proposals.”</p>
<p>The hearing looked uncomfortable for the CEO, who said he was trying to save the business and would make the same decision again. MPs did not hold back, with the the business committee chair, Darren Jones, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-60862883?at_campaign=KARANGA&at_medium=RSS">asking him</a>: “Are you in this mess because you don’t know what you’re doing, or are you just a shameless criminal?”</p>
<p>Another MP described recent events as a “tale of corporate thuggery where a huge company thinks it can break the law with impunity”.</p>
<p>For its part, P&O claims the company could not continue without the mass redundancies and says workers are receiving generous settlement packages – at least £15,000 – to compensate for the breaching of regulations.</p>
<p>Currently, individual workers sacked without notice would be able to use employment law to claim for up to <a href="https://ukandeu.ac.uk/po-ferries-and-employment-law/">90 days’ pay</a>. This cap allowed P&O to calculate in advance the amount it might be liable to pay – and then offer higher compensation settlements instead, making it hard for sacked employees to refuse the offer.</p>
<p>Effectively then, the company apparently chose to engage in what is known as an “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/efficient_breach">efficient breach</a>” of the rules. It worked out that adhering to its legal obligations to employees to engage in a consultation process was more costly than paying out settlements. The danger is that without statutory reform – as called for by one of the hearing witnesses – rich companies can simply choose to buy themselves out of the legal system in the same way. </p>
<p>Another danger lies in the fact that <a href="https://www.acas.org.uk/non-disclosure-agreements">non-disclosure agreements</a> (NDAs) are included in the severance agreements being offered to sacked P&O employees. These agreements prevent them from taking further legal action against their former employer or sharing sensitive information. </p>
<p>The use of NDAs in the UK, also knows as “confidentiality clauses” or “gagging orders”, has previously been criticised in relation to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/crack-down-on-misuse-of-non-disclosure-agreements-in-the-workplace">various issues</a> including sexual harassment, racial discrimination and assault. </p>
<h2>Sinking wages</h2>
<p>The international workers replacing sacked British staff, performing demanding jobs looking after the safety of passengers, are expected to be paid an average of £5.50 to £6 per hour. P&O argue that these rates match international maritime standards, but they are far lower than the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/minimum-wage-rates-for-2022">UK national minimum wage,</a> which from April 1 2022 will be £9.50 per hour for those aged 23 and over. </p>
<p>Calls for an end to nationality-based pay discrimination – where companies pay non-UK workers less than their British colleagues – in the shipping industry <a href="https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/other/call-for-an-end-to-nationality-based-pay-discrimination-in-the-shipping-industry">are nothing new</a>. But the P&O case shows that any attempts to resolve the issue have had little impact. </p>
<p>P&O estimate that using agency workers will cost around half what they used to spend on employees. They also argue it replicates the model adopted by competitors, highlighting the serious implications of a global downward wage spiral. </p>
<p>The 800 who lost their jobs last week meanwhile, may take some comfort in the backlash that has been launched against P&O. There has been calls for the government to ban their ships from sailing, and even seize the vessels. Transport secretary Grant Shapps accused Hebblethwaite of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60872294">“breathtaking arrogance”</a> and said measures will be put forward in parliament next week which will seek to force P&O to either reinstate staff or pay new workers the national minimum wage.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pando-sacking-of-800-staff-shows-just-how-precarious-uk-jobs-can-be-179589">P&O: sacking of 800 staff shows just how precarious UK jobs can be</a>
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<p>P&O should also be wary of that other essential element of a successful business model – customers. In recent years many companies have been desperately trying to convince consumers that they are moving away from focusing on profits and shareholders towards an approach which prioritises social responsibility. </p>
<p>Sacking 800 workers, many via video link, could easily lead <a href="https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/French-news/P-O-Dover-Calais-line-still-cancelled-readers-plan-to-boycott-service">to a boycott</a> and serious reputational damage. P&O may have avoided financial bankruptcy for now, but if passengers consider the company to be morally bankrupt, stormy waters lie ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Sara Hughes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Employment law is all at sea.Emma Sara Hughes, Lecturer in Human Resource Management, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1522682020-12-18T14:54:21Z2020-12-18T14:54:21ZFlexible working: lessons from the great work-from-home mass experiment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375874/original/file-20201218-57996-r2ntio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The right to flexible work should be extended to all employees from the start of their contracts. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-working-home-telework-on-laptop-1679636683">Vera Petrunina/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For years, politicians and employers alike have <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/flexible-working-rights-extended-to-more-than-20-million">talked up the promise of flexible working</a>. And it looked like change was happening.</p>
<p>Last year, the UK government announced a consultation around whether flexible work should not just be available, but become employees’ default option in its annual <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/queens-speech-december-2019">Queen’s Speech</a>. But 2020 rapidly became a hugely different year in Westminster and flexible working rights seemingly ground to a halt at the political level.</p>
<p>In the end it took the COVID-19 pandemic, with its attendant government-enforced lockdowns, for working from home to sit at the centre of an unanticipated global experiment and to become the catalyst for a real discussion about flexible work. </p>
<p>The changes set in place this year have radically highlighted how employees’ diverse commitments and characteristics affect their work on a daily basis. And employers have taken vast strides in appreciating how well-managed flexibility keeps workforces productive. Working arrangements that reflect these differences and keep all staff motivated and working to their best effect will play a key role in organisations’ survival and ultimately the UK’s financial recovery.</p>
<p>But in this new world of work, organisations cannot afford to let flexible working arrangements remain a perk reserved for their their higher-level staff after the pandemic. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Human hand stopping a line of dominoes from falling. concept image for recovery plan and solution for cascading failures and problems. Dominoes are placed on a white table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375876/original/file-20201218-17-1vdg49j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375876/original/file-20201218-17-1vdg49j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375876/original/file-20201218-17-1vdg49j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375876/original/file-20201218-17-1vdg49j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375876/original/file-20201218-17-1vdg49j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375876/original/file-20201218-17-1vdg49j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375876/original/file-20201218-17-1vdg49j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flexible working could be one of the many solution for the UK’s current woes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/human-hand-stopping-line-dominoes-falling-274807505">PTstock/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Unequal privilege</h2>
<p>Before the pandemic, we knew that flexible work was an <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/publicpolicy/support-for-policymakers/policy-projects/parry-flexible-working.page">unequal privilege</a> in organisations – that you were more likely to get it if your work was highly valued, or if you had a sympathetic manager. Organisations had found that an accepted opposition to flexible work requests was that certain jobs simply couldn’t be done remotely. And so many much-needed flexible work requests faltered.</p>
<p>Now this thinking has been disproved. We have seen that most formerly office-based jobs can be performed from home. </p>
<p>Our research suggests that many people even think they are more productive away from the distractions of the office – incredible as this seems, considering that lockdown offered no normal working from home conditions. Children and very often partners were at home too, competing for space and time. </p>
<p>Yet productivity gains are borne out by the organisational evidence from lockdown. <a href="https://www.workafterlockdown.uk/">Our Work after Lockdown</a> survey, which I carried out with colleagues, found that nine out of 10 people felt that they got more – or at least as much – done at home as they had in their offices. Seven out of 10 people who responded to our survey want to continue to work from home at least part of the week after offices reopen.</p>
<p>It will therefore be difficult for the managers who had been so suspicious of working from home to reinforce standard business hours now that they have seen their employees going over and beyond their role expectations for month after month. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Online Video Conference Call. Work From Home Meeting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375880/original/file-20201218-15-omtuoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375880/original/file-20201218-15-omtuoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375880/original/file-20201218-15-omtuoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375880/original/file-20201218-15-omtuoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375880/original/file-20201218-15-omtuoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375880/original/file-20201218-15-omtuoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375880/original/file-20201218-15-omtuoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Employees should be able schedule their time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/online-video-conference-call-work-home-1805271250">Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We now find ourselves on the cusp of change. There is a desire for action and as organisations start to seriously engage for the first time in <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-workplace-trends-will-shape-life-after-lockdown-138077">hybrid working</a>, it’s becoming evident that this is not a binary discussion about whether work is performed in or outside of organisations. More important is how employees schedule their time and key to this is engaging with a much broader range of flexible working arrangements that reflect people’s different circumstances. </p>
<p>For so long, flexible work has lagged because organisations had not bought into its business case. Now, with the kind of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/29/families-facing-hardest-period-in-five-decades-as-britains-economy-stalls">looming recession</a> that no one could have foreseen, the benefits of flexible work are very clear in the ability to help managers deal with complex working arrangements, maximise productivity and hold onto their skilled workforces when they will be most needed to weather the storm.</p>
<h2>Sustaining productivity gains</h2>
<p>It will be vital that flexible work is deployed in ways that are mutually beneficial to employees and employers. With workforce wellbeing at a low ebb during lockdown (our survey respondents scored 47.5 out of 100 on
<a href="https://www.corc.uk.net/outcome-experience-measures/the-world-health-organisation-five-well-being-index-who-5/">The World Health Organisation’s wellbeing index</a>), it is critical that employers respond quickly. </p>
<p>The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s <a href="http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/productivity-gains-from-teleworking-in-the-post-covid-19-era-a5d52e99/">review</a> of the evidence collected from member countries in recent years concluded that remote workers’ wellbeing is important in sustaining productivity gains. </p>
<p>Lockdown has made managers more aware than ever of staff diversity, with different home circumstances, styles of working and personality characteristics. Managers got more creative with their fixes and in the process developed a more sophisticated sense of workforce needs. </p>
<p>One of the key recommendations driven by the first wave of findings in our <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2020/07/long-term-implications-wfh.page">ESRC-funded research</a> is that the right to flexible work should be extended to all employees from the start of their contracts. This will help employers keep their valued staff working effectively through the next challenging period of recession, whilst also negotiating a new relationship with the EU.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152268/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Parry receives funding from UKRI/ESRC.</span></em></p>2020 has been the greatest ever global experiment in working from home. The pandemic will be the catalyst the flexible work discussion really needed.Jane Parry, Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and HRM, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1072212018-11-22T11:20:42Z2018-11-22T11:20:42ZMicrochip implants are threatening workers’ rights<p>It’s not often trades unions and employers are equally worried about an issue threatening workers’ rights. But recently, the UK’s Trades Union Congress and the main body that represents British businesses, the CBI, have both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/11/alarm-over-talks-to-implant-uk-employees-with-microchips">voiced concerns</a> about the budding practice of implanting employees with microchips.</p>
<p>Initially, the chips are being used in place of ID cards as a way of opening secure doors. But there’s good reason to think the use of implants could expand to more sinister purposes, giving employers much greater control over their workers and raising serious concerns over issues related to human dignity, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-006-9124-0">ethics</a> and health.</p>
<p>Businesses often do need some way to monitor employees to be sure they are completing their work and how much they should be paid. But in recent years, we’ve seen some more extreme monitoring methods that push at the boundaries of personal privacy. These include <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/02/18/firms-step-monitoring-employee-activities-work/2l5hoCjsEZWA0bp10BzPrN/story.html">surveillance of employee emails</a>, wearable technology that can <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/tesco-accused-of-using-electronic-armbands-to-monitor-its-staff-8493952.html">track employee movements</a>, and <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/every-stitch-you-make-divergent-effects-monitoring-technology">radio tags</a> on factory products that allow bosses to monitor how fast workers on an assembly line are operating. But implanting microchips in employees creates a new level of monitoring and control simply because workers can’t easily remove them or turn them off. </p>
<p>Microchip implants are typically the size of a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/07/25/technology-company-microchips-staff-can-clock-without-ids/">grain of rice</a> inserted under the skin between the thumb and the forefinger. They can allow people to enter buildings or use vending machines with just the swipe of their hand. Proponents say this makes life <a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-swedes-are-inserting-microchips-into-themselves-heres-why-97741">more convenient</a> as employees don’t have to carry ID badges or key fobs. Organisations that deal with sensitive information also say that such chips allow them to <a href="https://medium.com/cxo-magazine/microchipping-workers-is-a-thing-should-it-be-e74ea1de7cb9">set restrictions</a> on who can access this information.</p>
<h2>Not so innocuous</h2>
<p>Most companies using these chips present them in this fairly innocuous way and think the fear surrounding their use arises from <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/09/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-microchip/570946/">misplaced suspicions</a>. But too much monitoring can make employees feel spied on, damaging their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00236561003654776">productivity, creativity and motivation</a> as well as their personal well-being.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-technology-assessment-in-health-care/article/implanting-inequality-empirical-evidence-of-social-and-ethical-risks-of-implantable-radiofrequency-identification-rfid-devices/49E51218E1788D79B5F209C045FE56CB">research also suggests</a> that implanted chips are susceptible to security risks and increase the potential for identity theft given that it is relatively easy to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/microchips-privacy-implants-biohacking/">hack a microchip implant</a>. So employees could be subjected to something that actually threatens their personal security.</p>
<p>What’s more, employers’ motivations for introducing chip implants are unlikely to be entirely altruistic. There is nothing to stop them from using the technology to track employees’ whereabouts or activities outside work. The chips can be reprogrammed <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/614209/IPOL_STU(2018)614209_EN.pdf">while inside the body</a>, modifying their use and purpose from what might have initially been agreed between the employer and the employee. And this ability to track an employee’s location without their knowledge raises serious ethical concerns regarding their right to privacy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Workers are increasingly monitored, tracked and surveilled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cctv-surveillance-operating-office-building-214426324?src=PnL3Uzb7Ys4R7Wbu5t6N1w-1-1">Vasin Lee/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We’ve already seen how employers can use data ostensibly gathered for benign purposes to discriminate against workers. For example, personality tests designed to assess what job someone is most suited to have come under scrutiny for discriminating against people with <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/are-workplace-personality-tests-fair-1412044257">mental health issues</a>. Microchip implant data recording where employees go outside of work could be used to discriminate in similar ways.</p>
<p>Even if implants are technically voluntary, it’s not hard to imagine situations where employees might feel pressured to accept the chips by their managers or warned of unfavourable consequences if they don’t agree. Other increasingly intrusive forms of monitoring are already seen as an inescapable reality within many workplaces. For example, remote access to emails means some workers are expected to be on call at any time. This increases pressure on employees to work longer hours at the expense of their private lives, as well as creating another way for employers to track their activities.</p>
<p>Employees who choose to opt-out of company monitoring programs can also suffer real financial costs. In 2013, a pharmacy company launched a controversial health-screening program that <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/cvs-workers-insurance_n_2915006">allegedly required employees</a> to disclose personal information to their insurance provider and threatened to charge them US$600 a year if they refused. This kind of pressure can mentally condition workers to think that constant monitoring is the way forward.</p>
<h2>Health risks</h2>
<p>There is also limited information about the safety and health risks associated with the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18802863">use of chip implants</a>. As well as potential physical health risks, it is equally important for employers to understand the risks that microchip implants might pose to mental health. Employees receiving an implant might feel coerced to modify their usual behaviours because they know they are always being monitored and so experience high levels of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/000368709290005G">stress and anxiety</a>. Plus we don’t know very much about what kind of surgical intervention might be required to safely remove a chip, especially if it moves away from its initial implant site. </p>
<p>The good news is that in many developed countries, companies are expected to afford employees some level of privacy. In the EU, <a href="https://theconversation.com/gdpr-ground-zero-for-a-more-trusted-secure-internet-95951">new data protection legislation (GDPR)</a> means employers are expected to conduct privacy impact assessments when they engage in processes that represent a high risk to the rights of data subjects. Covert monitoring should only be carried out in exceptional cases when there is no other reasonable way to monitor employees. </p>
<p>This means that due to the concerns about the risks to privacy as well as health and security posed by chip implants any attempt to introduce them on a larger scale would likely face strong legal challenges. But that probably won’t stop some employers seeing what they can get away with at a time when it’s increasingly common to let private companies know almost everything about us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shainaz Firfiray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Seemingly innocuous security chips could enable companies to monitor employees in more sinister ways.Shainaz Firfiray, Associate Professor of Organisation and Human Resource Management, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1008352018-08-08T14:47:53Z2018-08-08T14:47:53ZHow contracts drawn up as comic strips are being put to use in South Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230429/original/file-20180802-136661-1i1d2si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Comic Contracts can help bridge language and literacy barriers. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Creative Comics</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Contracts are an important part of our lives. We need to sign them if we want to have a job, a place to live, medical services, insurance, a bank account, a loan, or to send our children to school. The list goes on. </p>
<p>But, contracts always seem to be documents <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228185535_Promoting_Business_Success_Through_Contract_Visualization">“written by lawyers for lawyers”</a>. They are dense, complex and hard to read even if you’re very literate; and are largely impenetrable if you have low literacy skills. In addition, contracts in South Africa are usually available only in English or Afrikaans, which are spoken as a first language by only a minority of South Africans. </p>
<p>How can the party supplying a contract convey the necessary information to a recipient with low literacy skills or in cross-cultural settings? This was the question which led to the idea of Comic Contracts. Comic Contracts are visually dominant contracts <a href="https://theconversation.com/comic-contracts-and-other-ways-to-make-the-law-understandable-90313">“written” in pictures</a>. Parties are represented by illustrated characters, the terms of the agreement are captured as comics and the parties sign the comic as their contract.</p>
<p>Well designed pictures are engaging, easy to understand and easy to remember. When pictures and text are strategically used together, such as in speech balloons or captions, the text becomes less intimidating and comprehension is both invited and enhanced. </p>
<p>Comic contracts were <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2017/02/14/comic-contracts-a-novel-approach-to-contract-clarity-and-accessibility/#219393f67635">developed by attorney Robert de Rooy</a> in South Africa, with the world’s first comic contract being his employment contract for fruit pickers on farms in the Western Cape province, produced in 2016. </p>
<p><a href="https://creative-contracts.com/examples/">Other examples</a> include non-disclosure agreements that have been developed for a major multinational company that needed to contract with a diversified supplier base in various countries. Earlier this year, the first comic contract in Australia was created for a <a href="https://www.aurecongroup.com/about/latest-news/2018/may/visual-employment-contract">multinational consulting engineering firm</a> by Professor Camilla Andersen and her team at the <a href="http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/201708259881/camilla-andersen/comic-books-contracts-and-law">University of Western Australia </a>. </p>
<p>Comic contracts are also being developed for agreements between parents and schools, specifically for schools in economically depressed areas, where the parents’ informed involvement in their children’s education is critical. But there’s huge potential still for further use, for example as contracts supplied by banks, insurers, and other businesses to their consumer clients. </p>
<h2>Are comic contracts legally binding?</h2>
<p>Under South African law, a <a href="https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/contract-law/the-law-of-contract-in-south-africa-contract-law-essay.php">contract</a> is formed when parties agree on terms they intend to be legally binding. Agreement is the basis of any contract. But there are a few other requirements too. Parties must have the capacity to contract and the object of the contract must be legal and possible. </p>
<p>In addition, any necessary formalities – such as that the contract must be in writing or signed by one or both parties – must be observed. Lastly, for the contract to be certain, a court must be able to interpret it. </p>
<p>Comic contracts can meet all these requirements. The requirements of capacity, legality, and possibility will be the same as for any other contract. And there’s no reason why a court should not be able to derive a clear meaning from a contract in the form of a comic: interpreting pictures is very much a part of everyday life. </p>
<p>But what do we make of (for example) the statutory requirement that an employer supply an employee with a minimum of <a href="http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/legislation/acts/basic-guides/basic-guide-to-employment-contracts">written particulars</a>? To ensure compliance, ordinary written text (in simplified plain language, strategically placed in speech balloons or captions) could be included as part of a comic employment contract. </p>
<h2>The future</h2>
<p>There is no case law on comic contracts anywhere in the world that we’re aware of. An <a href="https://theconversation.com/comic-contracts-and-other-ways-to-make-the-law-understandable-90313">Australian High Court judge is on record</a> as saying (in his personal capacity) that he thinks provided they are clear and understandable, comic contracts are valid and binding. </p>
<p>The more cautious party wishing to use a comic contract could always ensure that where contracts are regulated, the textual components of the comic contract contain the minimum essential text as part of its design.</p>
<p>We believe that comic contracts fill an important gap in communication between contracting parties, particularly businesses and consumers. Indeed, comics may be the future of consumer contracting.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://creative-contracts.com/our-team/">Attorney Robert de Rooy </a> contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100835/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Hutchison receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations in this article are the authors' and the NRF accepts no liability in this regard. </span></em></p>Comic contracts can meet all the requirements for contracts to be legally binding.Andrew Hutchison, Associate Professor of Commercial Law, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1001642018-07-19T02:37:51Z2018-07-19T02:37:51ZTech innovators start to see old-fashioned benefits of collective bargaining<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228331/original/file-20180719-142420-ilynvu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">After a long industrial campaign, Amazon workers in Italy have persuaded their employer to reach an agreement with them.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.filcams.cgil.it/lavoratori-amazon-in-sciopero/">FILCAMS CGIL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Disruption has been a defining buzzword of this decade, as companies in nearly all sectors find themselves challenged or supplanted as a result of the impact of technology. The beneficiaries of this disruption have mostly been newcomer enterprises – the Ubers and the Amazons – which have quickly grown to become part of everyday life.</p>
<p>Policymakers, reluctant to quash innovation, have taken a hands-off approach. But these innovators’ employment practices don’t appear to be so innovative. In recent times, however, some tech innovators have shown they aren’t allergic to bargaining with their workforce after all.</p>
<p>What’s driving this shift? It might be convenient for consumers but the gig employment model, with its arm’s-length relationship with its workforce, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40422073/why-these-on-demand-startups-dont-use-1099-contractors">struggles to build organisational culture and relationships with customers</a>. We see evidence of this in ongoing strife in companies such as Uber and Deliveroo. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gig-economy-businesses-like-uber-and-airtasker-need-to-evolve-to-survive-79199">Gig economy businesses like Uber and Airtasker need to evolve to survive</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Now, though, major firms have begun to negotiate collective agreements with their workers.</p>
<h2>Amazon in Italy</h2>
<p>For the <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/amazon-workers-organize-inhumane-work-hours-in-italy/5643014">first time anywhere in the world</a>, it was <a href="http://www.uni-europa.org/2018/05/25/historic-agreement-between-amazon-and-sector-unions/">announced in May</a> that Amazon had made an agreement with unions. The breakthrough took place in Italy, where Amazon and the FILCAMS CGIL union negotiated an agreement. It was endorsed by 70% of employees who voted on it.</p>
<p>The deal came into effect on June 17. It ensures fairness in scheduling and allocating weekend work, and reduces mandatory night shifts. </p>
<p>Amazon workers now get four consecutive free weekends out of every eight. Shifts alternate between Saturdays and Sundays, and they get 25% higher pay for working at night.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wh2icBSmDfc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Amazon warehouse and distribution centre in Piacenza, Italy, is now covered by a collective agreement with workers.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Digital media in the US</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/business/media/unions-digital-media.html">growing number of digital news outlets have signed collective agreements</a> with their writers over the last few years. The list includes <a href="https://www.recode.net/2016/4/15/11586166/vice-media-union-contract">Vice Media</a>, <a href="https://variety.com/2016/digital/news/thinkprogress-writers-guild-contract-1201822431/">ThinkProgress</a> and the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/huffington-post-union-contract_us_588f7523e4b0c90efefed41a">Huffington Post</a>. All are now signed on to union contracts with the <a href="https://www.wgaeast.org/">Writers Guild of America East</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, <a href="https://www.wgaeast.org/2018/01/slate-employees-vote-to-unionize-with-writers-guild-of-america-east/">Slate</a>, <a href="https://www.wgaeast.org/?s=Salon&x=0&y=0">Salon</a>, <a href="https://www.wgaeast.org/?s=MTV+News&x=0&y=0">MTV News</a> and <a href="https://www.wgaeast.org/2018/06/fast-company-unionizes-with-the-writers-guild-of-america-east/">Fast Company</a> recognise the Guild as a negotiating partner. <a href="https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/vox-media-unionizes-writers-guild-of-america-east-1202661137/">Vox</a> is <a href="https://www.wgaeast.org/2018/04/wga-east-to-livestream-from-vox-medias-first-union-bargaining-session/">negotiating</a> its first union contract right now. </p>
<p>These contracts establish minimum salary and future pay rises, and set agreed payment for derivative republication of writers’ work. They also limit the power of management to fire employees at will.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-huffpo-and-other-new-media-journalists-are-choosing-unions-49204">Why HuffPo and other 'new' media journalists are choosing unions</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A gig employer in Denmark</h2>
<p>We have heard a lot about <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-things-unions-can-learn-from-uber-drivers-54651">Uber</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/deliveroo-strike-win-shows-gig-workers-can-subvert-the-rules-too-64049">Deliveroo</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-gig-workers-may-be-worse-off-after-the-fair-work-ombudsmans-action-against-foodora-98242">Foodora</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/all-care-and-no-responsibility-why-airtasker-cant-guarantee-a-minimum-wage-76943">Airtasker</a> and the problems created because they don’t treat their workers as employees. This means, among other things, they don’t provide the minimum wage or other basic employment standards. Airtasker has sought to address this by <a href="https://theconversation.com/full-response-from-airtasker-ceo-tim-fung-77009">making undertakings</a> to the peak union body in New South Wales.</p>
<p>By contrast, Danish employment platform <a href="http://cphpost.dk/news/first-ever-collective-agreement-for-the-platform-economy-signed-in-denmark.html">Hilfr recently signed a collective agreement</a> covering its workers, who provide cleaning services. Under the agreement, Hilfr’s workers will receive:</p>
<ul>
<li>a minimum wage equal to A$30 an hour</li>
<li>pension contributions</li>
<li>holiday pay</li>
<li>sickness benefits.</li>
</ul>
<p>The agreement was negotiated with Danish union 3F (United Federation of Danish Workers) and comes into effect on August 1.</p>
<h2>Winds of change in Australia?</h2>
<p>After years of decline, collective bargaining coverage in Australia has stabilised over the past 12 months.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228329/original/file-20180719-142420-vcloy7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228329/original/file-20180719-142420-vcloy7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228329/original/file-20180719-142420-vcloy7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228329/original/file-20180719-142420-vcloy7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228329/original/file-20180719-142420-vcloy7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228329/original/file-20180719-142420-vcloy7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228329/original/file-20180719-142420-vcloy7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228329/original/file-20180719-142420-vcloy7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These figures don’t include new agreements being made in the retail sector. These are set to add another 200,000 employees by the end of this year.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the gig employment model faces the likelihood of increased regulation. The federal Labor Party has <a href="https://www.innovationaus.com/2018/07/Shorten-targets-the-gig-economy">stated its intention to regulate gig employment</a> if elected. Labor governments have starting doing so at state level.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The Victorian government recently <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/vic-to-boost-gig-economy-worker-rights">announced</a> on-demand deliveries would be brought within the <a href="https://economicdevelopment.vic.gov.au/about-us/legislation-and-regulation/support-for-the-transport-and-forestry-industries/key-features-of-the-act">Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act</a> and couriers given the ability to bring claims before the <a href="https://www.vsbc.vic.gov.au/">Victorian Small Business Commission</a> and the <a href="https://www.vcat.vic.gov.au/about-vcat">Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>In New South Wales, the shadow minister for industrial relations, Adam Searle, announced that Labor intends, if elected, to introduce <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/nsw-labor-aims-to-use-state-laws-to-regulate-gig-economy-workers-20180626-p4znrc.html">even broader protections</a> for gig workers to “fill gaps” in the <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/legislation/the-fair-work-system">Fair Work Act</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>The Queensland government is considering options to extend workers’ compensation coverage to gig workers.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/workers-compensation-doesnt-cover-gig-workers-heres-a-way-to-protect-them-99946">Workers' compensation doesn't cover gig workers – here's a way to protect them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Gig employers have a strong incentive to sit down and talk – it could make for an uncomfortable ride for them if workers’ entitlements continue to be imposed through political agitation followed by legislation.</p>
<p>Perhaps it won’t be long until we see one of these tech innovators put in place such an “innovative” agreement with its Australian workers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100164/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Walker is an official of the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees' Association.</span></em></p>Tech companies overseas are signing collective agreements with their employees. Might Australia be next?Michael Walker, PhD candidate researching worker voice, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/827262017-09-08T15:45:56Z2017-09-08T15:45:56ZNot lovin’ it: how insecure work creates insecure lifestyles for the poorest in society<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185253/original/file-20170908-25853-1s1whzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=lb-59856941&offset=1&sort=newestFirst">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The claim that Eskimos have 50 words for snow may be apocryphal, but it neatly illustrates the truism that our vocabulary becomes more extensive and nuanced for phenomena we encounter frequently.</p>
<p>The bog-standard job of the 20th century was formal, full-time and permanent. Recently the lexicon for other kinds of jobs has expanded. Work can be temporary, fixed-term, seasonal, project-based, part-time, on a <a href="https://fullfact.org/economy/facts-about-zero-hour-contracts/?gclid=CI2Kn7fomdQCFdRAGwoduBEGVA">zero-hours</a> contract, casual, agency, freelance, peripheral, contingent, external, non-standard, atypical, platform-based, outsourced, sub-contracted, informal, undeclared, insecure, marginal or precarious.</p>
<p>“<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MxUYDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=%22Self-entrepreneurs%22+uber&source=bl&ots=Z3qPWTLBOM&sig=7WwQpfgj5pr7s5zilI8qZSdA3q4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwid5aS195XWAhXBAsAKHa9wCkYQ6AEIMzAA#v=onepage&q=%22Self-entrepreneurs%22%20uber&f=false">Self-entrepreneurs</a>” now do “Uber-jobs” – a term that arose (mimicking the earlier pejorative term “McJobs” for low pay/quality work) to describe the use of workers who are technically self-employed in the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38930048">gig economy</a>. The atypical job is no longer quite so atypical. <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/587285/IPOL_STU(2016)587285_EN.pdf">Insecure work</a> has become an important phenomenon. </p>
<p>Employment is a field where predictions of the future have been reliable, because the trends have been clear for some time now that growth in insecure employment has reached a point to become a subject of study. In the 1990s, management guru <a href="https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/lbsr/the-shamrock-organisation#.WZv-mzsrK1t">Charles Handy</a> talked about the organisation of the future having a clover leaf design, with three kinds of human resource: full-time employees, casual staff and outsourced workers.</p>
<p>This threefold division was echoed in economist <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/jan/09/politicalcolumnists.comment">Will Hutton’s</a> darker prediction of a society in which 30% of people were disadvantaged and marginalised, 30% led insecure lives and 40% were privileged. </p>
<h2>Visions of 21st-century careers</h2>
<p>Careers in the start of the 21st century, we were told, would become “boundaryless” (hopping from project to project, not limited to one organisation), “portfolio” (multiple parallel jobs with multiple employers), and “protean” (with shapeshifting workers reinventing themselves as required).</p>
<p>Careers experts began to argue that the workers of the future needed to be ultra-flexible. Say goodbye to the job for life. Learn career management skills to dance nimbly to the tune of the new labour market. But this prescribed wisdom is problematic for four reasons.</p>
<p>First, job insecurity is has always existed; it was once the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-gig-economy-is-nothing-new-it-was-standard-practice-in-the-18th-century-81057">historical norm</a>. The construction industry has always been project-based and seasonal like agriculture; seafarers were traditionally hired for a voyage. The entertainment industry was literally the “gig economy”. These are among the industries that routinely discarded workers when the job was done.</p>
<p>What is new is the extension of insecure work into industries where it was not previously common. This has been facilitated by new technology and the widespread use of contractual arrangements that seek to limit workers’ rights.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185263/original/file-20170908-25859-1negzsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185263/original/file-20170908-25859-1negzsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185263/original/file-20170908-25859-1negzsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185263/original/file-20170908-25859-1negzsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185263/original/file-20170908-25859-1negzsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185263/original/file-20170908-25859-1negzsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185263/original/file-20170908-25859-1negzsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Companies like Deliveroo have been criticised for their pay and working conditions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/york-ukseptember-28-2016a-cyclist-increasingly-490881778?src=zMIbsaKIv2VtUCyXCZpw0w-1-8">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Second, the vision of a <a href="https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-24/edition-2/career-concepts-21st-century">brave new world</a> of portfolio, boundaryless, and protean careers was intended for professionals who could sell high-value parcels of work. It suits those with enough economic confidence to fly without the safety net of a regular income. These ideas were not dreamed up for the bicycle courier, the taxi driver or the peripatetic care worker, and certainly not for those trapped in a <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/low-pay-no-pay-cycle-understanding-recurrent-poverty">low-pay, no-pay cycle</a>.</p>
<p>Third, the career management rhetoric lost sight of the distinction between <em>is</em> and <em>should</em>. Growth in atypical working patterns does not imply a moral imperative that workers should facilitate this development by shaping themselves into the desired mould. Particularly where some employers might be seeking to offload responsibility for sick pay, holiday pay, and travel between jobs.</p>
<p>Flexibility in human resources allows employers to scale operations up and down rapidly, and with minimal cost. This is not just about keeping wage bills down, but also about employers reducing levels of economic risk, while workers increase their share of risk bearing. The challenge of global competition may be inevitable, but an unquestioning compliance with employer regimes for sharing wealth and risk is not. </p>
<p>Finally, new technology facilitates rapid allocation of work tasks. At the same time it can dismantle jobs into discrete micro-tasks for which labour can be bought and sold remotely. In doing so it may have the side effect of de-personalising the relationship between worker and supervisor and removing workers from social interaction with their fellow staff. A lifestyle of isolated and isolating tasks make it harder to forge a strong sense of social identity.</p>
<h2>Insecurity in the UK</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627671/good-work-taylor-review-modern-working-practices-rg.pdf">The Taylor Review</a> of Modern Working Practices is intended to signal that the UK government has woken up and smelled the coffee. It advocates the introduction of a new “<a href="http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/what_dependent_contractor_taylor_review.aspx">dependent contractor</a>” status for workers, but for the most part its recommendations are timid. Recently, the gig economy’s biggest fish, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/25/uber-deliveroo-chiefs-grilling-mps-gig-economy-self-employment">Uber and Deliveroo</a>, were taken to task by MPs. But so far it has been in employment law disputes, and not in Whitehall, that things have moved on.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185254/original/file-20170908-25875-1j16319.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185254/original/file-20170908-25875-1j16319.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185254/original/file-20170908-25875-1j16319.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185254/original/file-20170908-25875-1j16319.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185254/original/file-20170908-25875-1j16319.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185254/original/file-20170908-25875-1j16319.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185254/original/file-20170908-25875-1j16319.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Theresa May launched a review to secure better protections for workers, but it was largely regarded as timid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/search-results/fluid/?q=The%20Taylor%20Review&amber_border=1&category=A,S,E&fields_0=all&fields_1=all&green_border=1&imagesonly=1&orientation=both&red_border=1&words_0=all&words_1=all">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Insecure workers may have to adapt. But they can resist too, although it is not easy. They are not well placed to afford trades union membership membership, being troublesome can lead to reduced work offers, and their identification with a trade may be limited. Nonetheless in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/19/uber-appeal-uk-employment-ruling-drivers-working-rights">early skirmishes</a> of what is likely to be a long-running social conflict it is the unions that have emerged with initial success.</p>
<p>The latest example is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/04/mcdonalds-workers-strike-cambridge-crayford">McDonald’s</a>, where staff at two fast food outlets have just taken the unusual step of striking to demand better pay, more secure contracts and union recognition. </p>
<p>This is not just an issue of workers’ rights. When people become locked into long-term lifestyles of insecure work, it interacts with other issues. With the high cost of housing, it traps individuals in a life cycle limbo of dependency on parents. There are reasons to believe that poor quality jobs with insecure work patterns have <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-zero-hours-contracts-could-be-making-you-ill-77998">harmful effects on health</a>. These detriments fall disproportionately on those in the least prosperous socio-economic groups. </p>
<p>As for the way we educate young people about careers, exhortations to flexibility are good only up to a point. We need to equip workers of the future to collaborate to promote and safeguard their interests, and give them a fair chance to redress the power imbalance in contemporary labour markets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pete Robertson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When people get locked into the gig economy, it adversely affects other areas of their lives, from health to housingPete Robertson, Associate Professor, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/779982017-06-07T15:47:52Z2017-06-07T15:47:52ZHow zero-hours contracts could be making you ill<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171639/original/file-20170531-25676-r88zdu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stressed-factory-worker-125596868">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The notion of a “job for life” has ceased to exist for most workers in the UK. Companies are shifting the burden of earnings risk to the employee, increasing their use of <a href="https://fullfact.org/economy/facts-about-zero-hour-contracts/?gclid=CI2Kn7fomdQCFdRAGwoduBEGVA">zero-hours contracts</a>. Depending on your political standpoint, this is either a logical response to the demands of fiercely competitive <a href="http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Global_economics/Globalisation_introduction.html">globalisation</a>, or a way of exploiting workers at the more vulnerable end of the job market.</p>
<p>A growing feature of the “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38930048">gig economy</a>”, zero-hours contracts represent a significant change in the employment relationship as they guarantee neither work nor pay.</p>
<p>In December 2016, the UK <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus">Office for National Statistics</a> (ONS) reported that over <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/adhocs/006286numberofpeopleonzerohourscontractsbyselectedsoccodesnsaapriltojune2015and2016">900,000 workers</a> are employed on zero-hours contracts – an increase of over 100,000 over the year, as shown in the table below.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171595/original/file-20170531-23531-1cjehsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171595/original/file-20170531-23531-1cjehsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171595/original/file-20170531-23531-1cjehsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171595/original/file-20170531-23531-1cjehsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171595/original/file-20170531-23531-1cjehsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171595/original/file-20170531-23531-1cjehsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171595/original/file-20170531-23531-1cjehsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The dramatic rise in zero-hours contracts in the UK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Keith Bender</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The political importance of this phenomenon is reflected in both the Conservative and Labour party manifestos for the 2017 general election. The <a href="https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto">Conservative manifesto</a> plans to give more “rights and protections” to those in the gig economy, while the <a href="http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/manifesto2017">Labour manifesto</a> argues for an end to zero-hours contracts. </p>
<h2>March of globalisation</h2>
<p>After World War II, companies counted on stable employer-employee relationships whereby workers and firms made formal or informal contracts rather than rely on the market solely to match workers and companies. </p>
<p>Because they were more financially vulnerable to changes in income, workers embraced this arrangement that fostered security – their earnings were assured. And as it encouraged workers to stick around, companies enjoyed the benefits too, since they could maximise profits by attracting, retaining and training workers by providing contracts that reduced worker uncertainty over good and bad times.</p>
<p>But recently, precarious contracts have helped to erode the concept of a job for life, leaving workers exposed to insecurities in terms of their hours and earnings.</p>
<p>While zero-hours workers have the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/zero-hours-contracts-guidance-for-employers/zero-hours-contracts-guidance-for-employers">same statutory rights</a> as other employees, there are legal issues around the definition of an employee and worker that complicate which rights are <a href="https://fullfact.org/economy/facts-about-zero-hour-contracts/">guaranteed</a>. While some may not care about this, workers with dependants and rent or mortgages to pay are not likely to embrace uncertain pay and conditions.</p>
<p>For employers, the flexibility afforded by such contracts is a huge benefit for companies with variable labour demand, since they prefer a workforce that is available when needed, but not costly in periods of slack demand.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171641/original/file-20170531-25652-y3x2l2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171641/original/file-20170531-25652-y3x2l2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171641/original/file-20170531-25652-y3x2l2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171641/original/file-20170531-25652-y3x2l2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171641/original/file-20170531-25652-y3x2l2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171641/original/file-20170531-25652-y3x2l2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171641/original/file-20170531-25652-y3x2l2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Zero-hours contracts are an accepted part of the enthusiastically embraced gig economy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-deliveroo-riders-deliver-takeaway-foods-603405107">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although this flexibility may suit some workers, it is unclear whether most workers would benefit. For example, <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/articles/contractsthatdonotguaranteeaminimumnumberofhours/may2017#what-are-the-characteristics-of-people-employed-on-zero-hours-contracts">ONS data</a> show that a third of those on zero-hours contracts want to change jobs or want more hours, compared to fewer than 10% of those employed on other kinds of contracts.</p>
<p>Yet the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/index_en">European Commission</a> established a policy of “<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=102">flexicurity</a>” in 2007, whereby countries were directed to develop policies encouraging flexible employment contracts. While limiting job security, countries were to develop policies to help people find jobs easily, enhancing employment security. The EU flexicurity policy was motivated by the challenges of globalisation and the increasing need for firms to adapt to fast-moving changes in competition.</p>
<h2>Health and well-being</h2>
<p>The casualisation of employment relationships brings uncertainty to workers. For many, these contracts generate greater levels of <a href="http://www.publicpolicy.cam.ac.uk/zero-hours-contracts">low-grade stress</a> than traditional contracts. This low-grade but constant stress leads to another, much less-studied and unintended consequence of zero-hours contracts: their impact on worker health. </p>
<p>This was the focus of our <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/roiw.12316/full">recent study</a>, which tracked 2,300 initially healthy British workers for 17 years to see how often they found themselves in traditional or flexible contracts and whether the proportion of time spent in such contracts had any effect on their health.</p>
<p>Health was measured in a number of ways – a subjective opinion about overall health as well as self-reports of any health issues. </p>
<p>The results are striking and consistent. We found that for every measure of health we examined, the longer a worker spent in a flexible contract, the more likely they would fall ill – at a much higher rate than a worker in a permanent contract. </p>
<p>As the table below shows, by the eighth year of employment, all workers who had been in flexible contracts for at least 50% of the time experienced a fall in their overall health.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171597/original/file-20170531-25664-ol9fsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171597/original/file-20170531-25664-ol9fsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171597/original/file-20170531-25664-ol9fsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171597/original/file-20170531-25664-ol9fsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171597/original/file-20170531-25664-ol9fsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171597/original/file-20170531-25664-ol9fsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171597/original/file-20170531-25664-ol9fsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The decline in health of workers on zero-hours contracts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Keith Bender</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While this is a simple graph showing the state of health of those on flexible and permanent contracts, our paper reflects a variety of statistical tests to make sure that this pattern holds for all the health conditions we surveyed. </p>
<p>To give an idea of the correlation between zero-hours contracts and health problems, we compared the long-term effects of working on zero-hours contracts to the effects of smoking (something else we measured). Our data suggested that people who spent more time working in zero hours contracts experienced half as poor overall health outcomes as those people who smoked.</p>
<p>The dramatic increase in zero-hours contracts is unlikely to be entirely voluntary on the workers’ side. Again, the <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/articles/contractsthatdonotguaranteeaminimumnumberofhours/may2017#what-are-the-characteristics-of-people-employed-on-zero-hours-contracts">ONS data</a> above suggests that a third of workers want something different. Importantly, the negative effects of flexible employment on worker health can be substantial.</p>
<p>The public health consequences of the increase in zero-hours contracts and its long-term repercussions on the health of the working population may outweigh the short-run profit considerations of employers. Therefore, governments should revisit policies that promote the extra flexibility if it comes with a hefty price tag of increased public health expenditure and lost productivity.</p>
<p>Without factoring in this further cost of zero-hour contracts, there could be unintended consequences for society which are detrimental to productivity, and more worryingly, the health and well-being of the working population.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With no guarantee of work or pay, is the stress of flexible work contracts affecting the health of workers?Keith Bender, SIRE Chair in Economics, University of AberdeenIoannis Theodossiou, Chair in Economics, University of AberdeenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/617972016-07-06T05:06:08Z2016-07-06T05:06:08ZWorkers are taking on more risk in the gig economy<p>To secure work in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/gig-economy">gig economy</a>, workers often have to contribute not just their time and labour but also their capital. This means workers are not only shouldering the risks associated with insecure employment but also the risks associated with investing capital into businesses which they have little control over.</p>
<p>In the traditional economy businesses provide capital and employees provide labour. This is being challenged by the disruption wrought by technology, specifically the multitude of digital matching platforms.</p>
<p>There are now a vast array of organisations providing very different goods and services using digital platforms to match consumers and service providers in the sharing economy (also known as the collaborative economy, access economy or peer economy). </p>
<p>In this type of economy many organisations are “asset light”. This means businesses make money through providing access to goods and services and making connections between smaller providers and consumers. In doing so, the <a href="http://www.westlaw.com.au/maf/wlau/app/document?&src=search&docguid=I98a69e203cf111e6b8f3f870462e5362&epos=5&snippets=true&fcwh=true&startChunk=1&endChunk=1&nstid=std-anz-highlight&nsds=AUNZ_AU_CAWORKFRC;AUNZ_CA_CAWORKFRC&context=19&extLink=false&searchFromLinkHome=false">risk shifts</a> from business to individual gig workers. </p>
<p>In its recently released report into digital disruption, the <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/digital-disruption/digital-disruption-research-paper.pdf">Productivity Commission</a> described gig work as a model of hiring labour on demand. This is facilitated through platform websites (think Uber, TaskRabbit, Amazon Mechanical Turk), enabling work to be broken down into components which allows tasks to be allocated as needed. The Commission’s report warns that while “gigging” might increase flexibility of work it means workers bear more risk because of fragmented, insecure employment. </p>
<p>Gig workers are increasingly taking risks related not only to their labour but also to their own capital. This occurs when continued ownership of the assets used in work are dependent on a set of circumstances outside the control of the worker. For example, Uber drivers are encouraged to borrow money to buy their cars. If a driver is then <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/dumped-uber-driver-pleads-for-explanation-20160519-goz0dl.html">“decommissioned” by Uber</a> or if Uber changes the amount it pays to drivers or if the market gets flooded with new Uber drivers due to the accessibility of the platform, the driver is burdened with debt, with no ready means to pay it back.</p>
<p>This scenario also means that the official classification of gig workers is also contested. In the absence of a classification, gig worker status is being worked out on a case by case basis by the courts. For example the recent high profile <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3042248/the-gig-economy-wont-last-because-its-being-sued-to-death">legal cases involving Uber workers</a>. </p>
<p>For platform providers there is a huge incentive to ensure their workers are not classified as employees in any sense – otherwise they would be liable for providing entitlements to workers, driving up their costs. It would also question the legitimacy of having “employees” provide the physical assets that the platform relies on to carry out its business.</p>
<p>The key claim of the platform providers is that their gig workers should be considered independent contractors, not employees at all. Contractors in the traditional economy, such as truck drivers, have also sometimes supplied their own “tools” but the gig economy differs in that the gig worker doesn’t accumulate any goodwill that can be on-sold or leveraged for financial gain. The goodwill accrues to the platform provider, leaving the worker with fewer options.</p>
<p>Australia’s industrial relations system seems ill-equipped to regulate for emerging forms of work, given that it continues to struggle to define long-established forms of contingent employment (such as casual work). In terms of determining if a worker is an “independent contractor” Australian courts consider whether the hirer controls the work performed; whether the worker is integrated into the hirer’s organisation or is in business on their own; whether the worker is paid according to tasks completed or time spent working and whether the worker can subcontract out work, or is free to work for other hirers. </p>
<p>For example, [bicycle couriers](http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/2001/44.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=title(Hollis%20and%20Vabu%20) and <a href="http://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2013/2013fcafc0003">insurance agents</a> have been found by the courts to be employees because they were subject to hirer instructions or could not be said to be in business on their own. But in the absence of further regulation, each situation has to be assessed and tested on a case-by-case basis – a piecemeal and time consuming approach.</p>
<p>As the gigging economy gains momentum, <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/digital-disruption/digital-disruption-research-paper.pdf">policymakers</a>, labour activists <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/26/will-we-get-by-gig-economy;%20http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/fears-gigeconomy-threatens-loss-of-100-years-of-workplace-rights-20160516-gowag1.html">and the media</a> are asking questions about how we conceptualise work and protect workers. </p>
<p>The experience of labour regulation in supply chains provides some indication about what may happen in the gig economy space - specifically that economically dominant agents (a common example being big retailers or other quasi-monopolies) set the rules. That companies with global footprints are able to influence political contexts, obscure lines of liability, and restructure out risk. <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/10/11649786/uber-reaches-deal-new-york-drivers-union">Early indications</a> by big players like Uber demonstrate they have observed and learnt these lessons too.</p>
<p>To provide protections to workers in the gig economy Australia is going to have to grapple with these questions and with a reality in which workers don’t just provide labour but also capital, absorbing more business risk than ever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61797/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Workers in the gig economy have to deal with labour insecurity but they also take on more risk by using their own money to buy the tools they need to work.Sarah Kaine, Associate Professor in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, University of Technology SydneyEmmanuel Josserand, Professor of management, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/541882016-02-25T12:43:29Z2016-02-25T12:43:29ZIs it even possible to have a work-life balance?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112911/original/image-20160225-15156-nkfaqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Back in the early 1980s, when I started researching the field of careers, the notion of “work-life balance” was decidedly embryonic. It certainly had almost no resonance among women, who were still expected to work both at work and at home. Now it’s an acknowledged part of the zeitgeist and central to how we arrange our lives.</p>
<p>Look at investment bank JP Morgan Chase’s recent announcement of its <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/21/jpmorgan-chase-bankers-work-life-balance-weekends">Pencils Down initiative</a>, which encourages its young bankers to take off every weekend unless they’re involved in a “live deal”. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Carlos Hernandez, the company’s head of global banking, described the scheme as <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/j-p-morgan-chase-tells-investment-bankers-to-take-weekends-off-1453384738">“realistic to what this generation wants”</a>.</p>
<p>Stories highlighting the intensity of corporate life are familiar, and it’s a relief that some organisations are starting to take heed. It was the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/22/moritz-erhardt-merrill-lynch-intern-dead-inquest">death of Moritz Erhardt</a>, an intern at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, that first drove the banking industry as a whole to confront its workaholic zeal. Although exhaustion from work could not definitely be linked to his death, the fact that it followed a 72-hour shift led to calls to reassess the demands of banking culture.</p>
<h2>Forget balance</h2>
<p>Yet there’s reason to believe such innovations, however well-intentioned, are innately doomed. The problem is that the very idea of work-life balance suggests a neatly divisible whole that we can split as we wish. The truth is that life simply isn’t like that.</p>
<p>Why? Because stuff happens. There may well be people whose existence remains miraculously untroubled by random and unforeseen events, but for everyone else the supposedly competing spheres of work and life intrude on each other almost all the time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112914/original/image-20160225-15174-hsrxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112914/original/image-20160225-15174-hsrxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112914/original/image-20160225-15174-hsrxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112914/original/image-20160225-15174-hsrxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112914/original/image-20160225-15174-hsrxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112914/original/image-20160225-15174-hsrxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112914/original/image-20160225-15174-hsrxxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Balancing act.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">Tony Delgrosso</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s not even a question of balance. It’s a question of control. There are times when work and life can be shaped to our desires – we keep them apart to provide clarity and focus or pull them together when we crave clutter and noise – but often, despite our busy schedules and careful planning, one smashes into the other, leaving us painfully conscious that our efforts are collapsing all around us.</p>
<h2>Levels of control</h2>
<p>By way of illustration, consider the following basic framework for understanding the ever-shifting relationship between work and life. Expressed in more detail in <a href="http://jmi.sagepub.com/content/18/3/229.abstract">research</a> I co-authored with Jo Duberley and Gill Musson, it charts the slide from a high level of control to little or none.</p>
<p><strong>Segmenting</strong></p>
<p>This is the ideal we hear so much about. It’s where we keep work and life separate and why we head for the office when we could work from home, why we put on our smart clothes, why we talk about the nine-to-five. Many of us strive for it – and sometimes we even manage to pull it off.</p>
<p><strong>Integrating</strong></p>
<p>We sometimes try to amalgamate our “work” and “life” identities into a seamless whole. We have flexible boundaries – say, by working at home during school holidays. There can be an element of disruption, but it’s because we like it that way, and we still retain control.</p>
<p><strong>Importing</strong></p>
<p>When it suits us, we’re happy to import things from one sphere to another. It could be something as straightforward as talking about work at home or home at work. Crucially, in such instances we decide how much to give and when.</p>
<p><strong>Seeping</strong></p>
<p>This is where we start to lose control. We can’t stop the two worlds from entering each other’s orbit. Worrying about work deadlines at the dinner table, wondering about the kids’ forgotten football kit during a conference – the effect can be positive or negative.</p>
<p><strong>Invading</strong></p>
<p>Here the sense of disorder and the consequent loss of control become significant. The impingement of one sphere on the other might be physical or emotional. A loved one being rushed into hospital is an obvious example.</p>
<p><strong>Overwhelming</strong></p>
<p>Now imagine a loved one is diagnosed with a serious condition. Suddenly the emotions associated with one domain completely overpower the other. All control is gone. Disorder dominates. There’s little hope of balance now.</p>
<h2>A never-ending process</h2>
<p>We probably all recognise the above scenarios more readily than we might identify with the romanticised epitome of work-life balance. Countless books, guides, programmes, coaches and campaigns give us the distinct impression that there’s precious little difference between carving up our lives and cutting a cake, but the comparison is ridiculous.</p>
<p>Ultimately, we can’t just equate four hours in the office to four hours in the garden. It’s all too neat to be real.</p>
<p>Both “work” and “life” are elastic concepts. They’re in a state of ceaseless tension, and we’re almost perpetually reinforcing or redefining their boundaries in response not only to our own needs and desires but also the constraints imposed on us.</p>
<p>It’s an unending process – one we have to manage every day. The belief that it will result in flawless balance is sadly and even perilously misplaced. Perfection is unattainable, because ebbs and flows are far likelier than glorious equilibrium. That’s just the way it is, and we would do well to accept as much – as would employers that peddle the dangerous fiction of once-and-for-all solutions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54188/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurie Cohen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Life is messy – and it’s time we accepted that.Laurie Cohen, Professor of Work and Organisation, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/458382015-08-17T20:26:18Z2015-08-17T20:26:18ZProtecting the rights of the digital workforce in the ‘gig’ economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91733/original/image-20150813-21421-14i18qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=305%2C136%2C2695%2C1747&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many young workers exhaust themselves doing on-demand jobs for very little money.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Danny/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Spurred by advances in digital technology, an on-demand workforce has been growing steadily for well over a decade, creating a new “gig” economy. This is an economy in which more and more people either choose to, or are forced to, earn their livelihood working on lots of small “gigs” rather than being employed full- or part-time.</p>
<p>While the gig economy can offer greater flexibility and economic efficiencies, it also spells the rise of an anxious, disenfranchised workforce glued to their smartphones or laptops, waiting for the next gig to materialise.</p>
<p>First there were service marketplaces such as <a href="https://www.elance.com/">Elance</a>, oDesk (now <a href="https://www.upwork.com/">Upwork</a>), <a href="https://www.freelancer.com.au/">Freelancer</a>, and <a href="http://99designs.com.au/">99Designs-</a> through which computer professionals and designers competed for one-off or short-term assignments. Then came the current wave of digital platforms such as <a href="https://www.uber.com/">Uber</a>, <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/">airbnb</a>, and Australian start-up, <a href="https://whizztechnologies.com.au/">Whizz</a>, which offers on-demand cleaning services. </p>
<h2>Human intelligence for sale</h2>
<p>An even bigger global on-demand workforce has been nurtured by crowd-based platforms such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk <a href="https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome">AMT</a> and <a href="http://www.crowdflower.com/">CrowdFlower</a> on which millions of workers perform what are known in the trade as micro-tasks. </p>
<p>These are tasks such as tagging images, extracting keywords, gathering or checking address data, translating small fragments of texts and so on. AMT refers to these as human intelligence tasks (HIT). One HIT can be completed in a few seconds or a few minutes (for which workers may be offered a few cents) and they come in HIT groups of hundreds of HITs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92000/original/image-20150817-5127-1y2g1ci.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92000/original/image-20150817-5127-1y2g1ci.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92000/original/image-20150817-5127-1y2g1ci.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92000/original/image-20150817-5127-1y2g1ci.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92000/original/image-20150817-5127-1y2g1ci.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92000/original/image-20150817-5127-1y2g1ci.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=183&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92000/original/image-20150817-5127-1y2g1ci.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=183&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92000/original/image-20150817-5127-1y2g1ci.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=183&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Turk market place.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome">Screengrab</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the time of writing, there were about 300,000 HITs on offer at AMT. An average Turker (as they are referred to by AMT) can expect to earn US$2 to US$5 per hour on a good day, but there’s no guarantee in terms of regular work availability. </p>
<p>Platform providers play the role of middlemen who attract the service requesters on one side and the providers or workers on the other. The number of workers registered on these platforms continues to grow. Despite the low wages and the absence of any meaningful rights, an estimated four million people regularly turn to such platforms seeking work. </p>
<p>Many platform owners and innovation gurus have tried to dress up the gig economy as ushering in a new era of flexible, egalitarian, liberating work. But it’s hard to disagree with the observation made by the American employment and civil rights attorney <a href="http://www.tcf.org/experts/detail/moshe-marvit">Moshe Marvit</a>, writing in the Nation magazine, that at its core, it has <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/how-crowdworkers-became-ghosts-digital-machine/">reinvented piecework for the digital age</a>. </p>
<h2>Race to the bottom</h2>
<p>Systematic data on on-demand workers is scarce, as we read on <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-gig-economy-yet-to-register-in-employment-numbers-45495">The Conversation</a> last week. Available <a href="http://www.behind-the-enemy-lines.com/2010/03/new-demographics-of-mechanical-turk.html">Turker demographics from 2010</a> indicate that a vast majority of the Turkers were from the United States (47%) or India (34%). About 63% have college degrees, 30% are female, and the median age is 30. </p>
<p>The workers have very little bargaining power in what is perhaps one of the world’s largest, unregulated marketplace. They are invariably classified as independent contractors and not as employees.</p>
<p>There is nothing novel about workers performing piecemeal work in their own time. But the internet-based platforms supported by technological developments such as cloud, mobile, and service-oriented computing have enabled these markets to scale in space and time to a point where the size of the reserve army of unemployed and marginally employed is forcing a race to the bottom on wage levels. </p>
<p>Data-driven algorithms for continuous monitoring of worker performance and reputation enable requesters to pick and choose the workers. They also have the unilateral right to reject all or part of the work completed by a worker without payment, which adds to the pressure on workers.</p>
<p>Gig-based platform owners are also beginning to come under the scrutiny of regulators and tax authorities. Recently, the Australian Tax Office issued a ruling that all ride-sharing Uber drivers must <a href="http://www.startupsmart.com.au/financing-a-business/tax/gst-roadblock-deterring-uber-drivers/2015081115285.html">register for and pay GST</a> by classifying the work as “taxi travel service”.</p>
<p>The drivers already pay 20% to Uber. Uber has indicated that it will increase the fares across Australia by approximately 10% to compensate for the GST. Despite this, the relatively low fares fixed by Uber is likely to lead to driver attrition. The company’s response has been to <a href="http://www.startupsmart.com.au/financing-a-business/tax/gst-roadblock-deterring-uber-drivers/2015081115285.html">contest the ruling</a> and it is expected to take the matter to the Federal Court.</p>
<h2>New labour</h2>
<p>The larger debate about the need to regulate fast-growing platform companies and the accelerating on-demand economy is beginning to rage in many countries. The Federal Trade Commission in the United States put out a call for public comment on the “sharing economy” and the response from business groups, consumers and unions <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/technology/250632-debate-rages-over-regulating-the-on-demand-economy">was overwhelming</a>.</p>
<p>The agency received more than 2,000 comments, which reflects the conflicting perspectives and demands from a diverse range of stakeholders. Yet the framing of the debate in terms of “issues facing platforms, participants, and regulators in the sharing economy” led to a crowding out of the voices of the most affected: the workers. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, basic issues such as worker classification as employee or independent contractor; workers’ rights to bargain collectively for a decent minimum wage and conditions; and the need for balanced service level agreements, must be dealt with fairly.</p>
<p>The spectre of an underclass of digital proletariat will not go away until that happens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph G. Davis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Digital technology makes it easy for people to join the so-called “gig” economy and compete for work. But what employment rights does this online workforce really have, if any?Joseph G. Davis, Professor of Information Systems and Services, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/438972015-07-21T10:18:35Z2015-07-21T10:18:35ZHere’s how minority job seekers battle bias in the hiring process<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89083/original/image-20150720-14732-1keuujx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What's a better strategy: cast a wide net or tailor it narrowly?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Classified ad via www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Discrimination in the hiring process has limited the opportunities available to both racial minorities – such as African Americans – and women, with important consequences for their well-being and careers.</p>
<p>For example, research <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w9873">has shown</a> that white job applicants receive 50% more callbacks for interviews than equally qualified African American applicants. And, in the low-wage labor market, scholars <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/374403">have found</a> that African American men <em>without</em> criminal records receive similar callback rates for interviews as white men just released from prison. Researchers have also <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w5024">documented</a> discrimination in hiring against women, with particularly strong penalties against <a href="http://gender.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/motherhoodpenalty.pdf">mothers</a>.</p>
<p>But how does this reality affect these groups – African Americans and women – as they hunt for jobs? Do they tailor their searches narrowly to help them avoid discrimination, sticking to job opportunities deemed “appropriate” for them? Or do they cast a wider net with the hopes of maximizing their chances of finding a job that does not discriminate?</p>
<p>Until now, we have known little about this issue, largely because no existing data source has closely followed individuals through their job search. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/681072?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">New research</a> that we recently published in the American Journal of Sociology attempts to address this limitation by drawing on two original datasets that track job seekers and the positions to which they apply.</p>
<p>The results of our study point to three general conclusions about the job search process: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>African Americans cast a wider net than whites while searching for work</p></li>
<li><p>women tend to apply to a narrower set of job types than men, often targeting roles that have historically been dominated by women</p></li>
<li><p>past experiences of discrimination appear to drive, at least in part, the broader job search patterns of African Americans.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>On an important side note, these racial differences exist for both men and women and these gender differences exist for both whites and African Americans.</p>
<p>Let’s go into a little more detail on these three main findings.</p>
<h2>Casting a wide net</h2>
<p>Our analysis shows that African Americans apply to a greater range of job types with a broader range of occupational characteristics than similar whites. </p>
<p>For example, one of our survey respondents was previously employed as a “material moving worker.” Over the course of the survey, this respondent applied for jobs consistent with his prior work experience, such as “material handler” and “warehouse worker.” </p>
<p>However, the respondent also reported applying for jobs in retail sales, as an IT technician, a delivery driver, a security guard, a mail-room clerk and a short order cook. This respondent applied to jobs in a total of seven distinct occupations over the course of the survey, which represents a fairly broad approach to job search. </p>
<p>While this is just one example, it was typical. In both of the datasets we examined, African Americans systematically applied to a larger number of distinct job types than whites with similar levels of education and work experience. </p>
<h2>Women and self-selection</h2>
<p>Our study demonstrates that women pursued a search strategy very different than that of African Americans.</p>
<p>Women appeared to self-select into distinctive occupational categories consistent with historically gendered job types, such as office and administrative support positions. </p>
<p>During their job search, women also applied to a narrower range of occupations than men with similar education and work experience. </p>
<p>For example, women wanting to work in retail sales were more likely to apply strictly for that type of position during their job search. Men with similar aspirations, on the other hand, were more likely to branch out and apply to adjacent job types, such as wholesale, advertising or insurance sales.</p>
<h2>Past discrimination drives blacks’ behavior</h2>
<p>So what accounts for these race and gender differences in how people search for a job?</p>
<p>For African American job seekers, we found that perceptions of or experiences with racial discrimination played an important role in explaining their greater search breadth.</p>
<p>In one of the surveys we conducted, we asked job seekers about their experiences with racial discrimination at work. In our analysis, we found that individuals who reported that they had previously observed or experienced racial discrimination in the workplace were more likely to cast a wide net in their job search compared with those without such experience.</p>
<h2>A gender-segregated workforce</h2>
<p>But if discrimination, in part, drives the search behavior of African Americans, why do we not see similar adaptations by women, who also undoubtedly face employment discrimination? </p>
<p>We suspect the answer is related to the deeper and more explicit nature of gender inequality in the labor market. Occupations remain highly <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-232X.2012.00674.x/abstract;jsessionid=5977E75500AD49446A17155857B8C0A8.f01t02?userIsAuthenticated=false&deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=">segregated by gender</a>, and individuals from an early age can identify male- and female-typed jobs. </p>
<p>This reality affects women’s <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/321299?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">occupational aspirations</a> as well as perceptions of the <a href="http://asr.sagepub.com/content/69/1/93.short">constraints</a> they may encounter when deviating from gendered patterns. In either scenario, women’s self-selection into female-typed occupations may allow them to avoid jobs where they are more likely to experience discrimination. At the same time, this strategy likely reproduces gender segregation at work, which is an important source of gender inequality. </p>
<p>For African Americans, things are quite different. There are far fewer readily identifiable “black” or “white” jobs. The barriers facing African American job seekers can pop up across the labor market. Thus, it is more difficult for African Americans to target jobs where they will be able to avoid discrimination. </p>
<p>But a broad job search allows black job seekers to reach otherwise difficult-to-identify job opportunities in which racial discrimination is less prevalent. Given the challenges of anticipating where and when discrimination is likely to occur, applying to a broad set of job types raises the probability that an African American job seeker will apply to a job that does not discriminate.</p>
<h2>Key consequences and takeaways</h2>
<p>Job search strategies matter and can make a big difference in everything from lifetime earnings to potential career opportunities. </p>
<p>We find that broad search is associated with being more likely to receive a job offer, but also with receiving lower wage offers. Thus, job seekers appear to face a trade-off between the goals of finding any job and finding a good job. The broader search patterns among African Americans, therefore, may reduce some of the employment gap but contribute to the long-standing racial disparity in wages. </p>
<p>Second, to the extent that broad search leads job seekers to occupations that are different from their past work experiences, this strategy may limit African Americans’ ability to build coherent careers that are consistent with their experience and aspirations. Given significant racial differences in search breadth, these dynamics are likely to contribute to persistent racial inequalities in labor market outcomes. </p>
<p>In the case of women, limiting the scope of their search likely reinforces existing patterns of occupational segregation, which has consequences for the <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2782402?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">gender earnings gap</a> and implications for other forms of persistent gender inequality.</p>
<h2>Where does this leave us?</h2>
<p>Together, the findings from our study suggest that the job search process plays an important role in shaping, reinforcing and sometimes counteracting inequality in the labor market. </p>
<p>At the same time, discrimination and other barriers to employment must be considered to fully understand how labor market inequality is generated. </p>
<p>And, as the comparison of race and gender suggests, how individuals adapt to workplace barriers can take different forms and have distinct consequences. </p>
<p>Our research points to the importance of systematically examining both job search processes as well as discriminatory behavior and other constraints in the workplace if we hope to fully understand and rectify persistent racial and gender inequalities in the labor market.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43897/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David S. Pedulla receives funding from the Russell Sage Foundation and the UC-Davis Center for Poverty Research. His previous research has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, and the Employment Instability, Family Well-Being, and Social Policy Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Devah Pager receives funding from the Russell Sage Foundation. She has previously received funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. </span></em></p>Past hiring discrimination appears to lead African Americans to cast a wide net, while women tend to seek out roles historically associated with their gender.David S. Pedulla, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal ArtsDevah Pager, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/321802014-09-25T14:20:53Z2014-09-25T14:20:53ZBranson unlimited holiday plan for Virgin blazes trail others should follow<p>Richard Branson has introduced a <a href="http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/why-were-letting-virgin-staff-take-as-much-holiday-as-they-want">radical new policy</a> for Virgin employees, offering his personal staff unlimited holiday rather than a fixed number of days in a given year.</p>
<p>Announcing the idea <a href="http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/why-were-letting-virgin-staff-take-as-much-holiday-as-they-want">on his blog</a>, Branson said those working in his family office, his investment team, marketing, brand and PR teams and the Virgin Unite foundation could take holiday without first seeking permission or having to keep track of the number of days they were taking off. As long, that is, as they felt “100% comfortable” that they were up to date with their work and their absence would not affect the business or their careers.</p>
<p>The policy, or indeed non-policy, is a modern solution to a modern problem – our jobs are infringing on our personal lives more than ever and the nine-to-five life is becoming a thing of the past. We talk constantly of how our devices bring work into our homes but few meaningful solutions are forthcoming. If staff are expected to be flexible with their time, why should they expect any less in return?</p>
<p>It is good to see an employer signalling to his employees that he values them so highly he is prepared to offer them such a generous benefit. Branson says he has taken his inspiration from online video subscription service <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-12/how-to-set-your-employees-free-reed-hastings">Netflix</a> but other than these two companies, such a policy is relatively unheard of.</p>
<p>We can presume that the underlying psychological contract here is that Virgin is prepared to support the health and well-being of staff through this holiday benefit but that it would expect in return, implicitly, the loyalty and commitment of the employees to the aims and objectives of the business. </p>
<p>Any psychological contract worth its salt has to be of benefit to both employers and employees. The more employers meet the needs and aspirations of their employees, the more the employees should reciprocate with a commitment to making the business more successful.</p>
<p>Employers are increasingly buying into the idea that a healthy workforce is a productive one these days and it may be that Virgin is joining them. As early as 1851, British social reformer <a href="http://thinkexist.com/quotation/in_order_that_people_may_be_happy_in_their_work/146362.html">John Ruskin</a> noted that for people to be happy in their work, they need to be fit for it, not have too much of it and have some sense that they can achieve success in it.</p>
<p>More recently, a wealth of <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-work-leave-you-tired-stressed-with-no-time-for-family-youre-not-alone-31935">research</a> has shown that workers need to rebalance their lives. They need to minimise long and unsocial hours and take respite away from their duties – as well as the technology now associated with it. They need to spend time with their families and friends, in order, in the medium term, to deliver a better and efficient service. Unlimited holiday would seem like the perfect solution.</p>
<p>But the success of a scheme such as Branson’s depends on the extent to which employees are involved in the decision to introduce it. The general principle should be that employers survey their employees about what would make their work less stressful and their job more satisfying before working with them to design an appropriate policy. This is an idea suggested decades ago by Sigmund Freud, who believed <a href="http://lit.genius.com/Sigmund-freud-civilization-and-its-discontents-chap-2-annotated">“the daily work of earning a livelihood affords particular satisfaction when it has been selected by free choice”</a>.</p>
<p>Virgin’s unlimited holidays should also be part of a larger strategy to develop the health and well-being of employees but it is refreshing to see a company be prepared to think the unthinkable to come up with something truly innovative in employee benefits. With technology interrupting our respite more than ever, we need to come up with new solutions. As Mark Twain once wrote: “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get, what you always got.”</p>
<p>We need more companies like Virgin. So many proudly state that their people are their most valuable resource but so few translate it into meaningful actions. Let’s keep in mind the words of Vincent van Gogh about creating balance in our lives, and the dangers of workaholism: “I put my heart and soul into my work, and lost my mind in the process”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cary Cooper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Richard Branson has introduced a radical new policy for Virgin employees, offering his personal staff unlimited holiday rather than a fixed number of days in a given year. Announcing the idea on his blog…Cary Cooper, Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/289432014-08-28T09:54:55Z2014-08-28T09:54:55ZA stuttering recovery is the smokescreen for an attack on European employment rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57508/original/kfgzfg72-1409132997.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sign of the times</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/luccast85/6249730609/in/photolist-awgvb2-o1TRkE-5CbZy4-8aKkk5-o1SJFC-duDtyr-54znfo-9AMR9Q-5AGuMo-9AJU94-9AMJRA-9AJXEg-7XMsZV-oyeEbB-oyituG-eWde7x-bCxCd3-fsraqD-9r2FHa-opg6up-9r2FB4-6skYYv-7XQke9-JtHK1-5KuhDm-nJw69V-aXhEUF-9ZbYv1-7Y1gM7-a9dgvB-65tAYo-7XQi77-e2TGGa-7XJ3RM-aTu5zP-chuH2o-oricde-chu7NY-6sqbqG-aLTz8-78XjFw-9iM7Ex-fB6E1n-xj8mr-3LYwu-7XLG94-aqoPfB-9poGMj-arkDT7-9pkEAz">Luciano Castillo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The argument that strong employment rights are incompatible with economic growth has long exerted a strong influence on the minds of politicians. The relentless economic difficulties in the EU since 2008 have given fresh impetus to such thoughts – and sparked a sustained attack on workers’ status and protections. </p>
<p>In effect, this is the labour market face of austerity, and it arguably threatens the very recovery it is designed to protect. </p>
<p>One priority for governments in the aftermath of the financial crisis has been to make it easier for employers to dismiss their employees. According to advocates of reform, the logic runs like this. Constraints on dismissal discourage employers from taking on workers, pushing up unemployment, further disadvantaging those most at risk of joblessness (young people, for example), hampering small firms and discouraging investment, innovation and risk-taking. </p>
<p>Governments have therefore reduced severance payments, shortened probationary periods for new employees and diluted dismissal criteria so as to make it easier for employers to dispense with their staff. </p>
<h2>Reform deals</h2>
<p>This kind of dilution of employment protections has been most apparent in countries that have experienced greatest financial distress since the start of the economic crisis. Shackled to a common interest rate, the ailing countries of the eurozone have been driven to seek “internal devaluations” in order to boost their economies, attempting to drive down labour costs and the level of employment protections.</p>
<p>Some countries – such as Greece and Spain – have been obliged by <a href="http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=troika">the “Troika” of the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF</a> to implement reforms in return for financial assistance intended to ameliorate their sovereign debt crises and stabilise the eurozone. Reforms have been also been widespread among the central European economies. With the exceptions of Romania, Latvia and Hungary, which have requested substantial EU financial support since the start of the crisis, the central European economies have not been subject to direct demands from the Troika.</p>
<p>However, their reforms have been heavily influenced by country-specific recommendations, issued by the European Commission since 2011 and based on annual reviews of the economic performance of each EU member state. Several countries, including France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Lithuania and Slovenia, have received specific recommendations aimed at increasing labour market “flexibility”.</p>
<h2>Rights raid</h2>
<p>The UK government has escaped this kind of pressure from the European Commission, but has nevertheless cut employment protections. The claim is again that economic growth will follow as a consequence. We have seen an increase in the minimum period of employment service for unfair dismissal claims; a reduction in the minimum consultation period required in cases of large-scale collective redundancies; the introduction of a scheme that permits private sector employers to offer prospective employees a financial stake in their business on the condition that they give up employment rights; and <a href="https://theconversation.com/tribunal-fees-mean-workers-cant-afford-a-fair-hearing-29868">a new fees regime for Employment Tribunals</a>.</p>
<p>It is worth noting that even before these reforms were implemented, the UK already had among the weakest employment protections of any developed economy, as measured by the OECD’s employment protection legislation (EPL) index and <a href="http://www.oecd.org/employment/emp/oecdindicatorsofemploymentprotection.htm">the lowest EPL “score” of any OECD member within the European Union</a>. </p>
<p>The erosion of protections for workers represents a sacrifice of social justice considerations to the needs of the economy, but it is far from clear that economic benefits will actually materialise. Empirical <a href="http://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/Department-of-Economics-Discussion-Paper-Series/labor-market-institutions-and-unemployment-a-critical-assessment-of-the-cross-country-evidence">evidence amassed over many years</a> from a substantial number of econometric studies suggests that there is no clear cut relationship between employment protections and aggregate unemployment that holds across all economies at all times. </p>
<p>Some international comparisons <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w8526">have suggested a positive relationship</a> between the strength of employment rights and unemployment (particularly long-term unemployment) while others have found that the two are unrelated. Estimates are sensitive to the measures, time periods and methods used in their calculation. There is also a risk of overlooking the role of robust employment protections in preserving jobs during economic downturns. All in all, the “job creation case” for weaker employment rights is far from proven.</p>
<h2>Damaging effects</h2>
<p>The assault on employment rights might even have detrimental consequences for firms’ ability to innovate. The process serves to undermine the trust, cooperation and worker participation required for the successful introduction of new processes and products. To that extent, the erosion of employment protections would serve to impede rather than stimulate innovation and investment. </p>
<p>Rather than acting as a catalyst for economic recovery, it seems more likely that the recalibration of employment rights will produce a shift in the balance of power at the workplace in favour of employers, emboldening the worst and increasing the vulnerability and insecurity of those they employ. </p>
<p>The UK has already witnessed a collapse in the number of new cases being brought to Employment Tribunals and a substantial expansion of low-paid and insecure forms of employment, <a href="https://theconversation.com/zero-hour-contracts-the-dark-side-of-flexible-labour-markets-16500">such as zero-hours contracts</a>. Increasing employers’ freedom to dismiss workers clearly falls far short of a viable strategy for creating sustainable jobs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28943/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Heyes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The argument that strong employment rights are incompatible with economic growth has long exerted a strong influence on the minds of politicians. The relentless economic difficulties in the EU since 2008…Jason Heyes, Professor of Employment Relations, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/237972014-02-28T14:11:36Z2014-02-28T14:11:36ZCompensate footballers after injury, but don’t let insurance costs ruin the game<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42691/original/zkwg3sjt-1393521867.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dexter Blackstock will have his day in court.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Matthews/PA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Footballers are employees, and they deserve the same protections from loss of earnings through injury as you or I. But the astronomical sums involved in the modern game could lead to a worrying situation where insurance costs start affecting on-pitch actions. Who wants to insure the guy who might break Steven Gerrard’s leg?</p>
<p>The issue is back in the spotlight as Nottingham Forest striker Dexter Blackstock is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-26355985">seeking compensation</a> from Nigerian defender Seyi Olofinjana and his former club Cardiff City over a tackle which Blackstock claims was “negligent”.</p>
<p>The incident occurred in November 2010, during a league match in English football’s second tier between Forest and Cardiff. Blackstock was ruled out for 15 months. Now, he is seeking damages for being deprived of the chance to earn bonuses in this period, as well as the right to further compensation if the injury ends his career early.</p>
<p>The decision to sue Olofinjana and Cardiff City demonstrates the difficulty of deciding if and when the courts will intervene in matters which have taken place on the field of play.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KTPNdmKYxP4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Clumsy or negligent?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instances of one professional footballer suing another as a result of injuries sustained during a game are not unheard of, though they occur only infrequently. Perhaps the best known example is the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/injury-to-player-left-teammates-stunned-welsh-international-could-face-multimillion-pound-damages-bill-if-footballer-wins-what-is-seen-as-test-case-for-the-sports-world-1438052.html">case brought by Chelsea’s Paul Elliot</a> after being injured by Dean Saunders of Liverpool. Elliot lost the case (and was left with a huge legal bill) after he <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/injured-footballer-loses-pounds-1m-damages-case-better-insurance-for-players-urged-as-defender-whose-career-was-ended-faces-huge-costs-simon-midgley-reports-1421737.html">failed to persuade</a> the judge that Saunders had injured him negligently. </p>
<p>These cases are relatively rare, not least because of the difficulty in demonstrating that any legal wrongdoing has occurred. It is a well-established principle that participants in games and sport have an obligation to avoid deliberately harming fellow players, and that they must not cause harm by behaving in an unreasonable manner. </p>
<p>In organised sport such as football the law makes allowances for the physical nature and pace of the game. Behaviour which, in everyday life, would be regarded as unlawful is seen as legitimate. The courts are sympathetic to the notion that injury can and does result from physical contact occurring within the rules of football and other contact sports. Even in the case of foul play, the courts will be slow to intervene where injury results from a reasonable mistake or misjudgement by a player; they accept that this is a part of the game.</p>
<p>There are also practical limitations on legal action in this area. Sports like football are physical and fast-paced, and it will often be extremely difficult for a claimant to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the court that any injury was a result of deliberate or unreasonable behaviour, rather than a legitimate mistake or misjudgement. The result is that it is usually only in the more extreme cases that liability can be shown.</p>
<p>Blackstock’s decision to make a claim against both Olofinjana and his club, Cardiff City, reflects the principle that an employer may be held <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/vicarious-liability.asp">vicariously liable</a> for the negligent behaviour of an employee. As long as an employee is acting in the course of their employment an employer will be liable for their negligent acts. </p>
<p>This is of particular practical import, because the club will, in most circumstances, be in a better position than the player to pay any compensation that may be awarded. Given the sums that can be awarded, this ability to pay is significant. </p>
<p>In 2008, Manchester United trainee Ben Collett was awarded <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7553678.stm">damages of £4.3m</a> after a career-ending tackle in a reserve game against Middlesbrough. With United legends like Sir Alex Ferguson and Gary Neville testifying in court to Collett’s ability and dedication, and with his whole career still ahead of him, the award was always destined to be huge.</p>
<p>Blackstock, a 27 year old who has spent most of his career in the second tier with QPR and Nottingham Forest, may not be seeking such significant sums. But the true significance of this case may be as a precedent. It is up to the courts to decide whether Olofinjana’s action was “negligent” in the legal sense. However, hardly a game goes by without a crunching tackle or two. If a court were to set too low a threshold for injured players to obtain compensation, we could see many more such claims.</p>
<p>Insurers will be right to worry. Collett’s compensation was paid by Middlesbrough’s insurers, who can’t have been thrilled to see a reserve game cost them £4.3m. But what if the next Ben Collett or Dexter Blackstock was £300k per week Wayne Rooney? We could eventually see a situation where insurers refuse to cover teams playing against high-value opposition. </p>
<p>Though footballers are entitled to and deserve protection from the repercussions of serious injury, the worry is that they are getting too valuable for their own good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23797/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Boyes received funding from The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), the University of Neuchatel.</span></em></p>Footballers are employees, and they deserve the same protections from loss of earnings through injury as you or I. But the astronomical sums involved in the modern game could lead to a worrying situation…Simon Boyes, Principal Lecturer in Law, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/186692013-10-31T06:10:02Z2013-10-31T06:10:02ZFlexible working is great but carers should have rights too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33256/original/4mbcj2cz-1382094247.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C0%2C5168%2C3424&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Andrew Marr experienced the need for a family carer after a stroke.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Cheskin/PA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you are a carer, the need for flexibility can creep up slowly or arrive overnight. Guardian journalist Jackie Ashley and her broadcaster husband Andrew Marr experienced this after he suffered a stroke and their lives were put into turmoil. Both have <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10265134/Andrew-Marr-calls-for-flexible-working-rights-for-carers.html">written about how</a> this affected them, calling for new ways of supporting carers in similar situations.</p>
<p>The couple <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10265134/Andrew-Marr-calls-for-flexible-working-rights-for-carers.html">highlighted a suggestion</a> made by the Institute for Public Policy Research of a German policy, called Familienpflegezeit (family caring time), where collective bargaining agreements enable some employees with caring responsibilities to reduce working hours to a minimum of 15 hours a week for up to two years. “It’s taken for granted that pregnant women get maternity leave,” they said. “So why shouldn’t men and women keeping another person decently alive get similar guarantees?”</p>
<p>The German policy, which is not a legal entitlement but linked to a national long-term care insurance scheme, builds in job security and flexibility for the employee and the employer.</p>
<p>Employees in the UK currently have the right to a few days emergency leave (without pay) for family reasons and, if they are parents or carers, to request flexible working. But unlike Sweden and Japan where paid leave, for a limited period, is offered for those caring for someone who is dying or seriously ill, more generous provisions are not yet on the policy agenda here.</p>
<p>The right to request flexible working is set to extend to all employees with at least six months’ service, not just parents and carers, under the Coalition’s Children and Families Bill. This development looks to be that rare thing, a policy which benefits all and is based on consensus between government and opposition parties. The new bill feels like real progress; yet it could go so much further.</p>
<h2>Flexible working</h2>
<p>Flexible working can mean reducing or re-scheduling your normal working hours or working all or part of the time from home. It may mean more flexible start and finish times, extended lunch breaks or the freedom to swap shifts with a co-worker. It sometimes involves taking odd days or hours out, to take a relative to medical appointments, help in a crisis or respond to the needs of someone whose care cannot be planned. </p>
<p>A right to request flexible working was first introduced in Britain in 2002 for parents of young children and/or of a disabled child under 18. Four years later, this right was extended to parents of all children up to 16 and carers supporting sick, frail or disabled people. Introduced under Labour, these measures followed strong lobbying by parents’ and carers’ organisations and consultation with the business community. </p>
<p>The government-commissioned Work-Life Balance Survey, conducted four times between 2000-11, shows growing take-up of home working, compressed working weeks and part-time work. By 2011, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32153/12-p151-fourth-work-life-balance-employee-survey.pdf">most employees were aware</a> of their rights (79% of women and 72% of men) and 60% of employees had worked flexibly in the past year. Just over half of those caring for an adult said access to flexible working had been important when they first accepted their job. </p>
<p>Business leaders may like to note that people in large organisations took up flexible working more often than those in small firms and women, parents and carers made requests more often than other workers. Most requests (79%) were accepted by employers; 61% without negotiation, compromise or appeal. </p>
<p>The rights introduced in 2002 and 2006 also produced surprisingly little conflict; there were only 350 Employment Tribunal claims related to flexible working rights in 2009-10 and under 0.1% of all tribunal claims in 2003-08 were for this reason.</p>
<p>However, there can still be anxiety around taking up the right, usually because people feel they might be perceived to lack full commitment to their career. There is evidence in surveys that some managers lack understanding of caring responsibilities or may think these should be handled outside work.</p>
<p>From assessments it has made, the government thinks that anxieties around asking for flexible working for whatever reason will reduce when the right is extended to all employees with six months’ service, but that requests by people who are not parents or carers will rise only slightly.</p>
<h2>Caring responsibilities likely to rise</h2>
<p>Being able to request flexible working is a step in the right direction for carers and as the government’s assessment indicates, it is still carers that are most likely to take up the right. </p>
<p>Some fear the special status of parenting and caring could be lost as new flexible working changes are implemented, or that societal respect for parental and caring roles could evaporate. This seems unlikely as taking family life seriously is a strong value in our society. Parenting and caring are common life experiences and most managers and work colleagues have some understanding of the pressures involved. However, many argue that an ageing population and longer lives for sick and disabled people call for a more specific set of carer’s rights. </p>
<p>Greater access to flexible working addresses part of the challenge these societal changes bring, but won’t be enough for parents and carers unless other provisions such as good quality affordable childcare; reliable caring and household services for older and disabled people; measures to address carers’ loss of earnings, such as the new German scheme, and an approach to leave rights for carers closer to that taken in Sweden and Japan. </p>
<p>Marr is surely right that additional measures of this type should be the next step the government looks at here too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/18669/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Yeandle receives funding, via the University of Leeds where she is employed from: in the PAST, an inter alia - Government Departments, DH and DWP; Carers UK; Carers Scotland; EU Institute for Prospective Technological Studies; CURRENTLY - Technology Strategy Board; ESRC; EU Framework Programme 7.</span></em></p>If you are a carer, the need for flexibility can creep up slowly or arrive overnight. Guardian journalist Jackie Ashley and her broadcaster husband Andrew Marr experienced this after he suffered a stroke…Sue Yeandle, Professor of Sociology, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.