Casual or non-standard forms of working have been an established feature of the European labour market, with fixed-term contracts, part-time work, on-call and zero hours contracts, temporary agency work and freelance contracts accounting for some 25 percent of the European workforce. Article from the Labour Research Department.
However in the UK, the aftermath of the 2008 recession has seen a deeper and more fundamental structural labour market shift, with growing levels of involuntary casualisation firmly linked to bad and sometimes illegal employment practices such as low pay, low skill, minimal training, stunted career development and poor prospects. This return to a casualised past can only be stopped by strong trade unions. LRD is about to published a booklet in time for the TUC 2014 (September) aimed at an audience of trade union reps and members. It will look at the main forms of casualisation that have developed in the UK over the last six years, the sectors where they have the strongest grip, the legal rights of casual workers and the actions being taken by unions to fight back.
An essential tool for workers and reps the LRD booklet will: look at the facts and figures behind the spread of casualisation and its economic implications across various sectors; set out the key legal tests used to determine employment status; examine the use of payroll companies to codify false self-employment; look at the spread of umbrella companies and personal service companies. It will also look at the growth of zero hours contracts; examine agency working; rights available to fixed-term employees; the legal position of volunteers and interns; as well as setting out the the basic statutory rights available to all workers.
Published in September 2014 LRD’s Casualisation at work – a trade union guide will be an easy to understand and practical handbook, that will help workers and their union representatives discover any illegal or bad practice employers may be subjecting them too.
