Non-standard Employment Arrangements Research Articles

The Legal Classification of Human Capital in ‘Markets, Hybrids and Hierarchies’

Abstract The growth in platform work in the digital economy has challenged the legal classification of human capital across ‘markets, hybrids, and hierarchies’ in the labour market. In comparing the trinary approach in English law with Singapore’s binary approach in determining worker status, the aim of this article is to consider how Singapore’s labour law should be restructured and hybrid workers should be accorded appropriate recognition in order to recalibrate the coordination-risk bargain between capital and labour. The coordination-risk bargain – as the key function of labour law in the regulation of hybrid workers – refers to the capacity of the firm to coordinate the allocation of labour inputs under non-standard employment arrangements in exchange for absorbing the social and economic risks of the worker’s subordination and dependence. On this basis, this article proposes a reformulation of the ‘limb (b) worker’ category under the UK Employment Rights Act 1996, which should form the basis of labour law reforms in Singapore towards a more sustainable form of capitalism.

6.J. Workshop: Precarious employment and its impact on social protections in the EU

Abstract The changing nature of work, resulting from technology, globalization, shifts in demographics, and other economic and political forces, poses many potential problems for workers, employers, and society today and for the foreseeable future. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the importance of social protection systems, e.g. income security for injured or sick-listed workers. The pace of work is increasing, driven by increasing productivity demands and greater use of technology. The nature of employer-employee relationships is also changing rapidly, best exemplified by increases in what has been termed “nonstandard employment arrangements”, such as gig economy work and short-term contracts. However, what is viewed as greater employment flexibility by employers may represent a more precarious job for workers, as compared to pay, benefits and security for those with long-term employment arrangements. Nonstandard employment is typically shorter in duration, leading to more jobs over a lifetime, with the potential for exposure to multiple and simultaneous risks, some of them new, combined with the possibility of more time spent in periods of unemployment or underemployment. Precarious employment has been linked to adverse effects on worker health and well-being. Although these employment arrangements can affect workers of all education and income levels, they disproportionately affect workers in lower socioeconomic strata. One of the major consequences of nonstandard employment arrangements is the potential loss of social protections, including social security, yet this has not been well addressed. Our workshop focuses on the changing work life across different EU member states and beyond, examining different types of precarious employment and their effects on health and social security benefits. Prof. Ellen MacEachen will focus on how laws, policies and collective agreements in six EU countries, New Zealand and Canada protect the health of low wage and digital platform workers. She will address occupational and public health interventions for these workers in light of health risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Solveig Osborg Ose will focus on precarious work, sickness absence and risk sharing between employers, employees and social insurance in nine north-western EU countries. Moreover, she will discuss the adaptation of social protection systems to cover all types of employment to avoid increasing inequalities. Two experts Dr. Anita Tisch and Prof. Angelique de Rijk will reflect on the findings and discuss with the presenters and the audience the challenges, policies and practices needed towards employment and occupational safety and health social protections of precarious workers. Key messages • Precarious employment has been linked to adverse effects on worker health and well-being. Workers in lower socioeconomic strata are disproportionately affected. • A major consequences of nonstandard employment arrangements is the potential loss of social protections, including social security, yet this has to be addressed.

Temporal contexts and actors vis-a-vis I-deals' timing and creation: Evidence from Nigeria

I-deals (that is, personalised, non-standard employment arrangements negotiated between employees and their employers) arise at different stages of the employment lifecycle. I-deals can vary by timing, such as those created before hire (ex-ante) versus after hire (ex-post). However, scholars have not fully considered the impact of the temporal context (environmental, social, economic, individual) on I-deals or how a range of organisational actors may respond to enabling/constraining conditions when creating I-deals. Our paper focuses on the under-explored issue of I-deals’ timing by applying the theoretical lens of institutional entrepreneurship (IE). Key IE concepts enable a more critical understanding of broader temporal context impacts and the role of various actors (I-dealers, organisational agents) in creating I-deals. Drawing on a multicase study of 3 Nigerian organisations (62 semi-structured interviews, including fieldnotes and organisation-specific documents), our data revealed that field-level conditions and actors’ social positions interact to highlight (i) several distinctive temporal contexts, (ii) with differential impacts on I-deals’ timing and subsequently (iii) organisational actors adopting a range of tactics in response to enabling/constraining conditions. Based on these findings, we offer a theoretical model that reconceptualises I-deals’ timing by specifically focusing on the invisible concept of time. Finally, we discuss our study’s implications for I-deal research and offer future research directions and recommendations for practice.

Employment Precarity, COVID-19 Risk, and Workers' Well-Being During the Pandemic in Europe

The COVID-19 crisis highlights a growing precarity in employment and the importance of employment for workers' well-being. Existing studies primarily examine the consequences of employment precarity through non-standard employment arrangements or the perception of job insecurity as a one-dimensional measure. Recent scholars advocate a multidimensional construct with a wide range of objective and subjective characteristics of precariousness. Using data from Eurofound's Living, Working, and COVID-19 surveys, I define employment precarity as the objective form of employment instability, as well as subjective terms of job insecurity and emotional precariousness. I also investigate whether and how various facets of employment precarity along with COVID-19 risk are associated with workers' mental and subjective well-being across 27 European Union member states during the pandemic. This study sheds light on a comprehensive understanding of objective and subjective dimensions of employment precarity, as well as their effects on workers' well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employment Precarity and Increased Risk of Hazardous Occupational Exposures Among Residents of High Socioeconomic Hardship Neighborhoods.

While there is evidence that workers in nonstandard employment arrangements are disproportionately exposed to recognized occupational hazards, existing studies have not comprehensively examined associations between employment precarity and exposure to occupational hazards for these workers in the USA. The aim of this study was to examine relationships between employment precarity and occupational hazards in two contiguous high socio-economic hardship neighborhoods in Chicago. Using a community-based participatory research approach, community researchers administered a community-developed survey to 489 residents of Greater Lawndale who reported current or recent employment in a job that met at least one characteristic of precarious employment (e.g. unpredictable schedule, insecure work, no living wage/benefits). Employment precarity was calculated using a modified version of the Employment Precarity Index (EPI) developed by the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario group. We modeled the association between employment precarity and occupational exposures using logistic regression models. We identified a high prevalence of precarious employment in this sample, as well as a high prevalence of self-reported exposure to recognized occupational hazards. Increases in relative employment precarity were significantly associated with self-reported exposure to chemical and biological hazards, physical hazards, and slip, trip, strike, fall, trap or crush hazards at work. Results highlight the importance of using community research approaches and robust measures of employment characteristics, such as the EPI, to evaluate associations between employment precarity and hazardous exposures. These results suggest that variability in employment situations and resultant relative employment precarity are important predictors of exposure to recognized occupational hazards. Findings also suggest that health inequities observed among precariously employed workers may be partly explained by increased risk for exposure to occupational hazards, which has implications for community health and should be investigated in future longitudinal research.

Flexible Work: Opportunity and Challenge (FLOC) for individual, social and economic sustainability. Protocol for a prospective cohort study of non-standard employment and flexible work arrangements in Sweden

IntroductionFlexibility in working life, including non-standard employment (NSE) and flexible work arrangements (FWAs), offers the organisation a better ability to adapt to changing conditions while also posing considerable challenges for...

Non-Standard Employment and Unemployment during the COVID-19 Crisis: Economic and Health Findings from a Six-Country Survey Study.

The COVID-19 crisis is a global event that has created and amplified social inequalities, including an already existing and steadily increasing problem of employment and income insecurity and erosion of workplace rights, affecting workers globally. The aim of this exploratory study was to review employment-related determinants of health and health protection during the pandemic, or more specifically, to examine several links between non-standard employment, unemployment, economic, health, and safety outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the United States, and Chile, based on an online survey conducted from November 2020 to June 2021. The study focused on both non-standard workers and unemployed workers and examined worker outcomes in the context of current type and duration of employment arrangements, as well as employment transitions triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. The results suggest that COVID-19-related changes in non-standard worker employment arrangements, or unemployment, are related to changes in work hours, income, and benefits, as well as the self-reported prevalence of suffering from severe to extreme anxiety or depression. The results also suggest a link between worker type, duration of employment arrangements, or unemployment, and the ability to cover regular expenses during the pandemic. Additionally, the findings indicate that the type and duration of employment arrangements are related to the provision of personal protective equipment or other COVID-19 protection measures. This study provides additional evidence that workers in non-standard employment and the unemployed have experienced numerous and complex adverse effects of the pandemic and require additional protection through tailored pandemic responses and recovery strategies.

On the Job, Off the Books: Organizing Against Worker Misclassification in the Neoliberal Era

Worker misclassification is a form of precarious employment in which employers illegally designate their employees as ‘independent contractors’ to cut labor costs. Non-standard employment arrangements and the emergence of the misclassification problem are expressions of neoliberal economic reform and attendant shifts in managerial strategy. Although scholars and government statisticians have documented the prevalence of worker misclassification, extant research on labor-organizing campaigns in response to this practice is lacking. This paper presents case studies of two successful organizing campaigns against worker misclassification: (1) a United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA) effort in the Northeastern construction industry and (2) a Teamsters campaign focused on the West Coast port trucking industry. Both campaigns employ similar frames highlighting competition, free markets, and the necessity of industrial change to achieve these ideals. We conclude with a discussion of the prospects and limitations of these organizing strategies given the countervailing political and economic headwinds posed by neoliberal restructuring.

Who is 'on-call' in Australia? A new classification approach for on-call employment in future population-level studies.

BackgroundOn-call research and guidance materials typically focus on ‘traditional’ on-call work (e.g., emergency services, healthcare). However, given the increasing prevalence of non-standard employment arrangements (e.g., gig work and casualisation), it is likely that a proportion of individuals who describe themselves as being on-call are not included in current on-call literature. This study therefore aimed to describe the current sociodemographic and work characteristics of Australian on-call workers.MethodsA survey of 2044 adults assessed sociodemographic and work arrangements. Of this population, 1057 individuals were workforce participants, who were asked to provide information regarding any on-call work they performed over the last three months, occupation type, weekly work hours, and the presence or absence of non-standard work conditions.ResultsOf respondents who were working, 45.5% reported working at least one day on-call in the previous month. There was a high prevalence of on-call work in younger respondents (63.1% of participants aged 18–24 years), and those who worked multiple jobs and more weekly work hours. Additionally, high prevalence rates of on-call work were reported by machinery operators, drivers, community and personal service workers, sales workers, and high-level managers.ConclusionsThese data suggest that on-call work is more prevalent than previously recorded and is likely to refer to a broad set of employment arrangements. Current classification systems may therefore be inadequate for population-level research. A taxonomy for the classification of on-call work is proposed, incorporating traditional on-call work, gig economy work, relief, or unscheduled work, and out of hours work.

Protean and Boundaryless Career Attitude as Determinants of Well-being Among Indian IT Temporary Agency Workers

The growth of temporary and non-standard employment arrangements post liberalization drives temporary agency workers (TAWs), especially of the information technology (IT) sector, to be agents of their own career identities. As a result, TAWs embrace self-managed/adaptable career management approaches namely protean career (PCO) and boundaryless career (BCO) orientations for their long-term sustainability and well-being. This study investigated the direct effects of PCO and BCO on TAW’s well-being, also, their indirect effects thorough perceived employability (PE). Study participants were 246 TAWs employed by leading Indian IT recruitment agencies and deployed to work for various IT clients. Data were collected through validated questionnaire and analysed through structural equation modelling. Findings confirm direct effects of PCO and BCO on TAW well-being and partial mediation effects of PE. Thus, to boost TAWs’ well-being, organizations may consider developing their protean attitudes via employee engagement programmes, staff agencies through counselling to map workers values/interest with their assigned projects, TAWs workers themselves proactively participating in the challenging assignment at the client place.

The role of nonstandard and precarious jobs in the well-being of disabled workers during workforce reintegration.

Nonstandard employment arrangements are becoming increasingly common and could provide needed flexibility for workers living with disabilities. However, these arrangements may indicate precarious employment, that is, employment characterized by instability, powerlessness, and limited worker rights and benefits. Little is known about the role of nonstandard and precarious jobs in the well-being of disabled persons during workforce reintegration after permanent impairment from work-related injuries or illnesses. We used linked survey and administrative data for a sample of 442 Washington State workers who recently returned to work and received a workers' compensation permanent partial disability award after permanent impairment from a work-related injury. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations between nonstandard employment and outcomes related to worker well-being and sustained employment. We also examined associations between a multidimensional measure of precarious employment and these outcomes. Secondarily, qualitative content analysis methods were used to code worker suggestions on how workplaces could support sustained return to work (RTW). Workers in: (1) nonstandard jobs (compared with full-time, permanent jobs), and (2) precarious jobs (compared with less precarious jobs) had higher adjusted odds of low expectations for sustained RTW. Additionally, workers in precarious jobs had higher odds of reporting fair or poor health and unmet need for disability accommodation. Workers in nonstandard and precarious jobs frequently reported wanting safer and adequately staffed workplaces to ensure safety and maintain sustained employment. Ensuring safe, secure employment for disabled workers could play an important role in their well-being and sustained RTW.

Non-standard employment and mortality in Belgian workers: A census-based investigation.

Objectives:Evidence is growing that non-standard employment is associated with adverse health. However, little is known about the relationship between different non-standard employment arrangements and subsequent all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Using population-wide data, the present study investigated this link.Methods:Data was derived from the 2001 Belgian census and a 13-year-long follow-up. The analyses comprised 1 454 033 healthy and disability-free employees aged 30–59 years at baseline. Cox regressions were fitted to analyze the mortality risks of those in non-standard employment forms (temporary agency, seasonal, fixed-term, causal work and employment program) compared to permanent employees.Results:Several groups of workers in non-standard employment arrangements in 2001 exhibited a higher mortality risk relative to permanent employees during the follow-up after adjusting for socio-economic and work-related factors. This was especially the case among men. The relative mortality disadvantage was particularly elevated for male temporary agency workers. External causes of death played an important role in this association.Conclusions:A mortality gradient between the core and outer periphery of the Belgian labor market has been observed. This study also shows that the excess risk of death, previously attributed to non-permanent employment as a whole, hides inequalities between specific forms of non-standard work (eg, temporary agency, seasonal, fixed-term employment).

Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Part-Time Employment

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers with at least 50 full-time-equivalent employees to offer “affordable” health insurance to employees working 30 or more hours per week. If employers do not comply with the mandate, they may face substantial financial penalties. Employers can potentially circumvent the mandate by reducing weekly hours below the 30-hour threshold or by using other nonstandard employment arrangements (direct-hire temporaries, agency temporaries, small contractors, and independent contractors). We examine the effects of the ACA on short-hours, part-time employment. Using monthly CPS data, we estimate that the ACA resulted in an increase in low-hours, involuntary part-time employment of a half-million to a million workers in retail, accommodations, and food services, the sectors in which employers are most likely to reduce hours if they choose to circumvent the mandate, and also the sectors in which low-wage workers are most likely to be affected. Our empirical strategy uses as a control group Hawaii, which has had a more stringent employer health insurance mandate than that of the ACA for several decades. The findings are robust to placebo tests and alternative specifications. JEL Classification Codes: I13, J23, J3

The Future of Work: The Gig Economy and Pressures on the Tax System

In a number of common-law jurisdictions, gig workers (that is, workers who provide services through the use of web-based digital platforms) have recently sought to claim labour protections reserved for employees, such as the minimum wage, sick leave, and protection from unfair dismissal. These cases often involve the application of the multifactorial common-law test of employment to this new context, and the outcomes turn on the specifics of each case. In addition, classification as an employee has ramifications for a variety of tax matters. In this paper, the author considers whether the tax rules currently in place to capture non-standard employment arrangements have sufficient flexibility to capture gig workers. The focus of the analysis is Australian taxes (in particular, income tax, compulsory retirement savings contributions, and payroll tax), but reference is also made to similar issues under the laws of Canada. The author submits that, with respect to Australian income tax, gig work does not present a substantial risk to the tax base as a legal matter; however, a risk to the national revenue base comes from the compliance gap that is exposed when workers are no longer covered by employers' withholding mechanisms but are not picked up by tax administration regimes designed with larger businesses in mind. The author suggests that reliance on the registration of small businesses through the Australian business number, coupled with a new mandatory reporting regime for gig work platforms, would go a long way toward filling the transparency gap, and that doing so would both foster the voluntary compliance of gig workers and provide revenue authorities with data that could be used to detect non-compliance. A real risk exists that many gig workers will be outside the scope of the retirement contributions scheme and payroll tax and that the government, in consequence, will need to consider whether it is appropriate policy to change the law to include these on-demand workers.

Is Nonstandard Employment Hazardous to Workers' Health Status? A Focus on Special Employment in South Korea

Purpose: Workers in special employment relationship (WSERs) are workers in nonstandard employment arrangements who lack worker protection accorded in standard employment arrangements. This study aimed to describe self-rated health (SRH) and depressive symptoms (DS) among Korean WSERs in comparison to regular wage workers (RWW) and identify associations between working conditions and those outcomes. Methods: In this study, secondary data analysis using the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey was used. The sample totaled 29,120, including 1,538 WSERs and 27,564 RWWs. Sociodemographic and work-related characteristics were employed as explanatory variables and SRH and DS as dependent variables. Using multiple logistic regression, the determinants of fair/poor SRH and DS were identified. Results: The prevalence rates for fair/poor SRH and DS in WSERs were 25.2% and 28.3%, respectively, and 20.7% and 25.0% in RWWs, respectively. Compared to RWWs, WSERs had 31% (aOR=1.31, 95% CI=1.14~1.49) and 20% (aOR=1.20, 95% CI=1.06~1.36) higher odds of SRH and DS, respectively. Some factors, such as a lack of rest guarantee and sickness presenteeism, had a larger influence in the WSER than in the RWW group. Conclusion: Compared to RWWs, WSERs reported having poorer working conditions and were more likely to report poor general and mental health. Therefore, in Korea, public health policymakers should consider measures to protect the working conditions and health of WSERs, a growing segment of the working population. The study produced new epidemiological evidence regarding the relationships between employment arrangements and health.

Motivation, Migration and Non-standard Employment: A Survey Among Temporary Agency Workers

Research suggests that migrants have a greater tendency to end up in nonstandard employment arrangements than native citizens do, but less attention has been paid to motivational differences within and between migrant groups. On the basis of a survey of temporary agency workers in Norway, we investigate the effect of different country backgrounds on the perceived suitability of nonstandard employment (NSE) at present and in the future. For the perceived current suitability, we find less variation between country backgrounds, but Norwegian workers are much less likely to accept NSE as suitable in the future. An ordinal regression shows that motivation (positive and negative) rather than country background is the strongest predictor of finding NSE employment suitable. As such, the article contributes to understandings about voluntary or involuntary motivations to engage in NSE in a way that informs discussions about migrants in different power positions in a Nordic labor market context.

Contractual status, worker well-being and economic development

This article focuses on the growth of non-standard employment arrangements in those segments of the labour market in developing countries that were previously the locus of ‘standard’ jobs. While informality is still a significant concern in developing countries, the increase in non-standard employment has compounded problems for workers and the labour market, adding to the already heightened levels of insecurity. In addition, by weakening the employment relationship, enterprises have less of an incentive to invest in the training of their workers or in productivity-enhancing technology or organizational improvements, potentially undermining economic development. Never the less, these issues can be addressed through regulations that lessen differences in contractual arrangements, as well as by restricting the use of non-standard employment. Governments should consider instituting and enforcing these measures for the benefit of workers, but also for firms, and for economic development in general.

Employment arrangement, job stress, and health-related quality of life

ObjectiveWe aimed to understand the characteristics of U.S. workers in non-standard employment arrangements, and to assess associations between job stress and Health-related Quality of Life (HRQL) by employment arrangement. BackgroundAs employers struggle to stay in business under increasing economic pressures, they may rely more on non-standard employment arrangements, thereby increasing the pool of contingent workers. Worker exposure to job stress may vary by employment arrangement. Excessive exposure to stressors at work is considered to be a potential health hazard, and may adversely affect health and HRQL. MethodsWe used the Quality of Worklife (QWL) module which supplemented the General Social Survey (GSS) in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. GSS is a biannual, nationally representative cross-sectional survey of U.S. households that yields a representative sample of the civilian, non-institutionalized, English-speaking, U.S. adult population. The QWL module assesses an array of psychosocial working conditions and quality of work life topics among GSS respondents. We used pooled QWL responses from 2002 to 2014 by only those who reported being employed at the time of the survey. After adjusting for sampling probabilities, including subsampling for non-respondents and correcting for the number of adults in the household, 6005 respondents were included in our analyses. We grouped respondents according to their employment arrangement, including: (i) independent contractors (contractor), (ii) on call workers (on call), (iii) workers paid by a temporary agency (temporary), (iv) workers who work for a contractor (under contract), or (v) workers in standard employment arrangements (standard). Respondents were further grouped into those who were stressed and those who were not stressed at work. Descriptive population prevalence rates were calculated by employment arrangement for select demographic and organizational characteristics, psychosocial working conditions, work-family balance, and health and well-being outcomes. We also assessed the effect of employment arrangement on job stress, and whether job stress was associated with the number of reported unhealthy days and days with activity limitations. These two health and well-being outcomes capture aspects of worker HRQL. ResultsOur results underscored the importance of employment arrangement in understanding job stress and associated worker health and well-being outcomes. Between 2002 and 2014, the prevalence of workers in non-standard employment arrangements increased from 19% to 21%; however, the observed trend did not monotonically increase during that period. Compared with workers in standard arrangements, independent contractors and on call workers were significantly less likely to report experiencing job stress.For workers in standard arrangements and for contractors, we observed significant association between perceived job stress and reported unhealthy days. We observed a similar association for reported days with activity limitations, for workers in standard and temporary arrangements. ConclusionThe major contribution of our study was to highlight the differences in job stress and HRQL by employment arrangement. Our results demonstrated the importance of studying each of these employment arrangements separately and in depth. Furthermore, employment arrangement was an important predictor of job stress, and compared with non-stressed workers, stressed workers across all employment arrangements reported more unhealthy days and more days with activity limitations.

Micro-entrepreneurs, Dependent Contractors, and Instaserfs: Understanding Online Labor Platform Workforces

The rapidly growing number of people who find work via online labor platforms are not employees, nor do they necessarily fit traditional conceptualizations of independent contractors, freelancers, or the self-employed. The ambiguous nature of their employment status and its implications for worker well-being have attracted substantial controversy, but to date most empirical research in this area has focused on the market efficiency of a single platform rather than on workers themselves and related human resource management issues. Research progress will require understanding how online labor platform work differs from other types of nonstandard employment arrangements, as well as critical differences across labor platform firms in how work and workers are managed. This paper proposes a conceptual classification framework to facilitate research on the attitudes, experiences, and outcomes of workers who use these platforms. We explore how labor platform firms’ operational choices shape how control is allocated across workers, clients, and the firm, and how they influence workers’ autonomy, incentives, and degree of economic dependence on the firm. Implications for theory development, research, and managing worker–firm relations are discussed.

Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Part-Time Employment: Early Evidence

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers with at least 50 full-time-equivalent employees to offer “affordable” health insurance to employees working 30 or more hours per week. If employers do not comply with the mandate, they may face substantial financial penalties. Employers can potentially circumvent the mandate by reducing weekly hours below the 30-hour threshold or by using other nonstandard employment arrangements (direct-hire temporaries, agency temporaries, small contractors, and independent contractors). We examine the effects of the ACA on short-hours, part-time employment. Using monthly CPS data, we estimate that the ACA resulted in an increase in low-hours, involuntary part-time employment of a half-million to a million workers in retail, accommodations, and food services, the sectors in which employers are most likely to reduce hours if they choose to circumvent the mandate, and also the sectors in which low-wage workers are most likely to be affected. Our empirical strategy uses as a control group Hawaii, which has had a more stringent employer health insurance mandate than that of the ACA for several decades. The findings are robust to placebo tests and alternative specifications.