Balancing Precarious Work and Care: How Well does Labour Law Respond to Women's Changing Work Patterns?
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Kent
Department Name: Kent Law School
Abstract
At a time when women are predicted to take on considerably higher care burdens as a result of public sector 'austerity' cuts (Women's Budget Group, 2011), the pressures on many women balancing work and care are set to increase. This is even more of a problem for women in precarious work because employment equality rights allowing employees to negotiate flexible work are based on a 'standard employment relationship' model and therefore exclude a wide range of (predominantly female) precarious workers, including agency workers. It is known that women choose (Williams, 2010) or, if they are on low income, are forced into, precarious work (Alakeson, 2012) precisely because of unpaid care obligations. With the increased effects of public sector cuts on women, and with government currently in the process of formulating new flexibility rights in the workplace through the recent 'Modernising Workplaces' consultation, it is extremely important that any new policies and laws take account of these social and legal problems.
This socio-legal project will use new qualitative research on women's working lives to propose a radical re-evaluation of UK labour law and policy. Most UK labour law is based on the 'standard employment relationship' (SER), an outmoded concept of work, which is a relic of the post World War Two industrial era. Apart from other problems, the SER assumes that most workers are in permanent, full time work with a single employer, and that workers do not have any obligations to care for children or dependents. A key problem for UK policy-makers is that the SER is modelled on, and contributes to, embedded inequalities between women and men in the workplace, and that it continues to place the burden of unpaid care on women.
This project will undertake the first in-depth research into the experiences of those people who are most likely to be disadvantaged by the gender assumptions in the SER: precarious female workers with care commitments. It will investigate how the legal frameworks stemming from the SER affect the day to day lives of women balancing precarious work and care, women's reasons for doing this work, and their strategies for managing the tensions caused by care dilemmas. This rich, empirical data will then be used to feed into a new gender-sensitive vision for UK labour law and policy. As such, 'Balancing Precarious Work and Care' will be the first project in the UK to use qualitative research on women's working lives to reformulate key concepts in labour law.
This research will be important to a number of non-academic groups, including trade unions; advice organisations for precarious workers, working families, and single parents; legal policy groups; and equality lawyers. Research findings will be disseminated in the form of a substantial policy report; an information summary on current UK and EU law aimed at precarious workers; an international conference bringing together researchers, lawyers, policy-makers, trade unionists, and grassroots activists on how to tackle the precarious work/care dilemma; and a project website. Findings will also be published in academic form through peer-reviewed journal articles and will form the basis for a monograph proposal to be completed after the end of the grant.
This socio-legal project will use new qualitative research on women's working lives to propose a radical re-evaluation of UK labour law and policy. Most UK labour law is based on the 'standard employment relationship' (SER), an outmoded concept of work, which is a relic of the post World War Two industrial era. Apart from other problems, the SER assumes that most workers are in permanent, full time work with a single employer, and that workers do not have any obligations to care for children or dependents. A key problem for UK policy-makers is that the SER is modelled on, and contributes to, embedded inequalities between women and men in the workplace, and that it continues to place the burden of unpaid care on women.
This project will undertake the first in-depth research into the experiences of those people who are most likely to be disadvantaged by the gender assumptions in the SER: precarious female workers with care commitments. It will investigate how the legal frameworks stemming from the SER affect the day to day lives of women balancing precarious work and care, women's reasons for doing this work, and their strategies for managing the tensions caused by care dilemmas. This rich, empirical data will then be used to feed into a new gender-sensitive vision for UK labour law and policy. As such, 'Balancing Precarious Work and Care' will be the first project in the UK to use qualitative research on women's working lives to reformulate key concepts in labour law.
This research will be important to a number of non-academic groups, including trade unions; advice organisations for precarious workers, working families, and single parents; legal policy groups; and equality lawyers. Research findings will be disseminated in the form of a substantial policy report; an information summary on current UK and EU law aimed at precarious workers; an international conference bringing together researchers, lawyers, policy-makers, trade unionists, and grassroots activists on how to tackle the precarious work/care dilemma; and a project website. Findings will also be published in academic form through peer-reviewed journal articles and will form the basis for a monograph proposal to be completed after the end of the grant.
Planned Impact
The proposed research will benefit precarious workers with care commitments and the grassroots organisations that support them; lawyers and government; and trade union and national and international policy organisations. Many representatives from these groups have already agreed to participate (see pathways to impact).
This project will contribute timely evidence-based law reform and policy proposals on precarious work and care to government, non-government and union actors. It will develop critical knowledge about gaps in labour and equality law amongst lawyers, trade unions, and equality policy groups. It has the potential to improve the working conditions of many women, using qualitative research on their experiences to encourage a range of innovative legal and policy solutions to the problem of balancing precarious work and unpaid care.
1. PRECARIOUS WORKERS WITH CARE COMMITMENTS. Precarious workers will benefit from: practical legal advice contained in the information sheet (see case for support); increased awareness, amongst policy-makers, of their specific needs; changes in law and policy arising from policy proposals arising from the research. Grassroots organisations will benefit from: new empirical research on the working experiences of women performing unpaid care; information about employment law and policy gaps surrounding unpaid care and precarious work. This, alongside the project's policy proposals, will be useful in formulating internal organisational goals and in drafting their own new policy solutions.
2. LAWYERS AND GOVERNMENT. The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has just closed a key consultation on reforming the UK's workplace flexibility laws (Modernising Workplaces). Given the timing of this project, research findings should be ideally placed to influence the legislative debate and any future debates about reform of flexible work. The PI will work with specialist lawyers, and policy-makers (including those on the Advisory Group), in responding to proposed law reforms and, where necessary, outlining alternatives to government departments and shadow ministers.
3. TRADE UNIONS AND POLICY ORGANISATIONS. As above, trade unions and policy organisations will benefit from new data on the working experiences of women performing unpaid care, as well as employment and policy gaps surrounding unpaid care and precarious work in the UK, when formulating their own briefings in conjunction with the legislative process. All beneficiaries in this category will be able to use the project's specific legal proposals in formulating alternative visions of UK and international labour law, through legal and policy initiatives at domestic and international levels.
Collaboration will take place as follows (see pathways to impact for full details):
A) Advisory Group(AG): Including representatives from trade unions, policy-makers, lawyers, and grassroots organisations, as well as key academics. It will meet twice, at key stages in the project, to advise on research design and dissemination, being consulted at other regular intervals. Some members will assist with reaching research respondents.
B) User Involvement in Research Design: Open meeting to be held in London in June 2013 to facilitate user involvement/feedback on the project. Plans for the open meeting to be discussed in advance with the AG and advice sought on how to maximise user-engagement. Key trade union and grassroots organisers will be invited from the three research sites. Research respondents to be given the option to comment on research design, execution, and dissemination when interviewed.
C) User-appropriate Activities/Dissemination: legal information sheet for precarious workers; policy report for lawyers, policy makers, trade unions, and government; one day end of event conference for all.
This project will contribute timely evidence-based law reform and policy proposals on precarious work and care to government, non-government and union actors. It will develop critical knowledge about gaps in labour and equality law amongst lawyers, trade unions, and equality policy groups. It has the potential to improve the working conditions of many women, using qualitative research on their experiences to encourage a range of innovative legal and policy solutions to the problem of balancing precarious work and unpaid care.
1. PRECARIOUS WORKERS WITH CARE COMMITMENTS. Precarious workers will benefit from: practical legal advice contained in the information sheet (see case for support); increased awareness, amongst policy-makers, of their specific needs; changes in law and policy arising from policy proposals arising from the research. Grassroots organisations will benefit from: new empirical research on the working experiences of women performing unpaid care; information about employment law and policy gaps surrounding unpaid care and precarious work. This, alongside the project's policy proposals, will be useful in formulating internal organisational goals and in drafting their own new policy solutions.
2. LAWYERS AND GOVERNMENT. The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has just closed a key consultation on reforming the UK's workplace flexibility laws (Modernising Workplaces). Given the timing of this project, research findings should be ideally placed to influence the legislative debate and any future debates about reform of flexible work. The PI will work with specialist lawyers, and policy-makers (including those on the Advisory Group), in responding to proposed law reforms and, where necessary, outlining alternatives to government departments and shadow ministers.
3. TRADE UNIONS AND POLICY ORGANISATIONS. As above, trade unions and policy organisations will benefit from new data on the working experiences of women performing unpaid care, as well as employment and policy gaps surrounding unpaid care and precarious work in the UK, when formulating their own briefings in conjunction with the legislative process. All beneficiaries in this category will be able to use the project's specific legal proposals in formulating alternative visions of UK and international labour law, through legal and policy initiatives at domestic and international levels.
Collaboration will take place as follows (see pathways to impact for full details):
A) Advisory Group(AG): Including representatives from trade unions, policy-makers, lawyers, and grassroots organisations, as well as key academics. It will meet twice, at key stages in the project, to advise on research design and dissemination, being consulted at other regular intervals. Some members will assist with reaching research respondents.
B) User Involvement in Research Design: Open meeting to be held in London in June 2013 to facilitate user involvement/feedback on the project. Plans for the open meeting to be discussed in advance with the AG and advice sought on how to maximise user-engagement. Key trade union and grassroots organisers will be invited from the three research sites. Research respondents to be given the option to comment on research design, execution, and dissemination when interviewed.
C) User-appropriate Activities/Dissemination: legal information sheet for precarious workers; policy report for lawyers, policy makers, trade unions, and government; one day end of event conference for all.
Organisations
Publications
Emily Grabham
(2018)
Balancing precarious work and care: Interviews with women workers 2015-2017
in UK Data Service
Grabham E
(2017)
Time and technique: the legal lives of the 26-week qualifying period
in Economy and Society
Grabham EK
(2017)
Time and Technique: The Legal Lives of the 26 Week Qualifying Period
in Economy & Society
Grabham Emily
(2016)
Brewing Legal Times: Things, Form, and the Enactment of Law
| Description | Women in precarious work who have care obligations may slip outside of the legal net of family-friendly employment rights, for a variety of reasons to do with current law and policy, on the one hand, and employer responses to the complexities of women's working and caring lives, on the other. Findings to date suggest that women in precarious work with caring obligations experience a range of difficulties accessing family-friendly working arrangements. For example, there is a widely shared perception that many types of precarious or non-standard work work are unsuitable for flexible work. Women often experience uncertainty as to their current or future work and contracts and are unwilling to 'rock the boat' in asking for flexible arrangements or emergency leave. Many women have little or no understanding of their current contract or legal rights, yet are willing to attempt negotiation with employers where possible and necessary. Many women experience disciplinary action, dismissal, non-renewal of work contracts, and other detrimental treatment at work as a result of needing to alter hours for care reasons, sometimes leading to unemployment, and often resulting in no legal action from workers. Some women take on apparently less well-protected (in employment rights terms) work hoping that it will increase their ability to balance work and care (for example moving from inflexible permanent contracts to agency working). A greater general awareness of diverse family structures and resulting wider care expectations (which may depend on cultural background) has often not been reflected in employers' responses to flexible work requests and care emergencies. Any further analysis on this project should take into account the reliance of many women in low-paid precarious work on Working Tax Credit. Women's lives are often affected by moderate to severe lack of sleep due to caring obligations; anxiety and depression caused by work uncertainty; preoccupation with scheduling strategies; preoccupation with money worries; strategising about transport to and from work, nurseries, and schools; childcare costs and penalties for late pick-up; and immigration status. In generating these initial findings, the key achievements of the project have been as follows: 1. The PI has performed in depth qualitative research on women's experiences of balancing precarious work with unpaid care obligations. Using research training and mentoring enabled by the grant, she has developed a set of reflexive socio-legal research methods to help develop a gender-sensitive vision of UK labour law through the lens of women in precarious work. This has happened through: - Research design, recruitment, and interviews: Following in depth training on research design and qualitative research methods at the University of Kent and the National Centre for Social Research, the PI successfully collaborated with AG members, unions, NGOs, and mentor (Vickerstaff) in honing the research design so as to put women's experiences more effectively at the heart of the project. She altered the timetable of the research such that interviews came first, and identification of key legal problems was put back to the later stages of analysis. The PI used a range of strategies to ensure appropriate and diverse recruitment, paying attention to work status, type of contract, sector, location, ethnicity, educational attainment, parenting status, and type of care obligation. She recruited a diverse group of women from across the mainland UK in a wide range of precarious working and care situations. Following training with National Centre for Social Research on depth interviewing, the PI performed 35 in-depth interviews, including walking interviews, skype and telephone interviews, using an interpreter where necessary, and featuring sketches to help develop discussion of key emerging themes. - Legal research and interim report: The PI performed legal research on UK, EU and ILO laws on family-friendly employment rights and precarious work. She made visits to the International Labour Organisation in Geneva and Institute for Feminist Legal Studies at Osgoode Hall Law School in Ontario in order to perform further library research, and connect with and interview key experts, grassroots activists, and scholars. The PI used this data to hone potential directions for legal research, pending analysis of interviews. On the basis of preliminary analysis of interviews and legal research, the PI drafted and launched an interim project report in collaboration with key unions, grassroots organisations in London in June 2016. - Qualitative Analysis and Outputs: Following training on qualitative analysis at the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Surrey, the PI completed the first stage of qualitative analysis of interview data using Nvivo and honed key themes for policy report and further academic publications. In collaboration with a colleague at Kent (Amanda Perry-Kessaris), the PI constructed a sample collaborative analysis session for groups, using visual methods to enable discussion, manipulation, and creative responses to anonymised raw data from the interviews. The PI is now at the stage of honing and assessing this strategy for use with retail workers (March 2017), labour law scholars and experts (through the Gendering Labour Law network; summer 2017), and workers rights organisations (July 2017). Her single-authored monograph published in 2016 (Brewing Legal Times: Things, Form and the Enactment of Law) featured a chapter based on legal research about flexible working undertaken for this project. Additionally, she has published one article in a highly regarded peer-reviewed academic journal (Economy & Society, 2017) on the 26 week qualifying period on family-friendly rights, drawing on interviews with legislative drafters, trade unionists, and policy experts, conducted as part of the legal research for the project. She has identified a gap in socio-legal research and publications on legislative drafting, which may be the focus of future research. A second article on women's experiences of precarious work, time, and law is in draft. The final policy report is in draft. There is considerable scope for at least one further academic article from the material. 2. The PI has successful forged meaningful collaborative links with precarious workers, unions, grassroots organisations, and international academics throughout the research process, in order to facilitate ongoing dialogue and exchange of ideas in addressing the gendered aspects of the standard employment relationship. She has consulted unions, grassroots organisations, and internationally recognised academics on revised research design, recruitment, and analysis at the advisory group meeting and through ongoing individual meetings. A dedicated feedback day at USDAW in June 2016 was organised to communicate with and obtain feedback from women retail workers on interim report. The launch of the interim report in London June 2016 was attended by interview participants, TUC, Working Families, Young Women's Trust, and the Workers' Action Centre Toronto, allowing these groups to give valuable feedback on on-going research and analysis. A dedicated international, interdisciplinary two-day workshop was organised at Kent in June 2016 with leading scholars in order to present initial research findings and generate debate about research methods in studies of labour regulation. Ongoing collaborative analysis (see above) is oriented at developing conversations about a gender-sensitive vision of the standard employment relationship, which will hopefully long outlast the current project. There are ongoing plans to obtain input from Working Families and the TUC on drafting and disseminating the policy report. |
| Exploitation Route | I am already in close collaboration with the TUC, Unison, USDAW and Working Families on reporting and disseminating the findings. Given the orientation of the project and its research methods, the findings could be taken forward by those wishing to understand the experiences of women in precarious work who have care obligations. These might include grassroots organisations; unions; employers and employers' organisations; and legal and policy experts, working inside and outside of government on flexible work and employment rights. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Government Democracy and Justice |
| Description | I have collaborated with Working Families and USDAW to produce a short book (50,000 words) aimed at a policy and wider public audience to report on my findings. Whilst there is no formal impact to date, I expect impact to follow and will update researchfish when this happens. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Other |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic |
| Description | Research Networking Scheme |
| Amount | £35,049 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/M008533/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2015 |
| End | 02/2017 |
| Title | Qualitative methods in labour law research |
| Description | Through the research project, I am developing a range of research methods perspectives for the study of labour law. These include the use of qualitative empirical research alongside doctrinal research and the use of collaborative socio-legal analysis. The Social Studies of Labour Regulation event in 2016 provided an interdisciplinary, international forum for discussing how to take these forward, and I will continue to develop this in writing up final outputs and planning future research. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This is still in development but I hope to build on the experimental approach developed through the research project in future academic and non-academic collaborations. The most immediate step will be a new online presence (webpage or blog) on collaborative analysis in labour law research, forthcoming summer 2017. |
| Description | Brainstorming Day (London) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | This Brainstorming Day provided an opportunity to launch and obtain feedback on the Project Update, a report designed especially for non-academics. Participants in the day included study participants, trade unionists, gender rights and work life balance third sector organisations, and a workers' action group from Canada. Discussion of the report has allowed me to focus the final phase of the empirical research and to map final non-academic dissemination. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Collaborative Analysis day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 16 March 2017 I will be leading a collaborative analysis day on my research project at USDAW offices in Manchester with a range of women's trade union representatives. The purpose of the day is to discuss and analyse anonymised extracts of data from the ongoing research, which I have grouped into themes from an earlier round of analysis. We will be using visual and deliberative analysis methods. The objective is to hone some aspects of the analysis as I work towards writing the legal and policy report over the summer. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation on Research at Working Families 'Families and Work' Group, 3 July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presented findings from the analysis of empirical research on the project to a diverse group of NGO, trade union and government policy experts at the Working Families 'Families and Work' group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Social Studies of Labour Regulation: Ways of Doing, Ways of Thinking |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This academic workshop was held at the University of Kent 27-28 June 2016 and featured an international, interdisciplinary group of scholars working on labour and labour regulation from law, anthropology, sociology, and politics. The idea for the workshop came from the training in empirical research that I have undertaken as part of this grant. I became very interested in how labour law scholars, and scholars working from other disciplines on issues to do with labour regulation, think about methods and concepts in their work. The aim of the workshop was to start a conversation on these issues across disciplines with a series of papers reflecting on participants own practice, and a follow up session to chart future collaborations. We are currently in the process of deliberating the shape of any future collaboration and at least one visiting scholarship at the University of Kent has arisen from the workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.kent.ac.uk/law/socril/events/2016/socialstudies.html |
| Description | USDAW Listening to Women Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | I attended a one day workshop organised by USDAW, the retail workers' union, called "Listening to Women". This was attended by women's trade union representatives from across the UK. I fed back on my ongoing research and interim report. Participants brainstormed my initial findings, gave me suggestions for future directions for the research, and assisted with finding further participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |