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The provision of care, in particular, long-term care, is a major policy concern across Europe, one exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-crisis, a universal basic income may be a progressive way to address how care is rewarded in society. In this article, we examine the relationship between caring responsibilities, labour market participation and support for a universal basic income across a number of European countries. Our findings indicate that support for such a scheme is extremely divided, even among care-providing groups who may potentially gain from its introduction.

PurposeDrawing on Bourdieu's conceptualisation of physical capital, this article explores the experiences of male and female employees in non-traditional occupations where body work is an integral part of the role. Specifically, the authors examine how being an underrepresented gender in this context impacts the experience of work, including challenges faced and perceptions for future opportunities in the role.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on two in-depth case studies undertaken in the social care and security/door work sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with male social care workers and female security workers in the night-time hospitality sector. Management representatives were also interviewed in each case. The interviews examined how the nature of the work in these roles impacted on the underrepresented gender's perceptions of various aspects of their working lives.FindingsThe findings illustrate how many of the challenges associated with non-traditional occupations are experienced differently in body work roles, either being amplified or instead presenting opportunities for the role holder with implications for the day-to-day and longer-term experience of work. The findings illustrate how the actions and behaviour of management and colleagues can exacerbate the extent to which underrepresented gender feel accepted within their role and organisation.Practical implicationsOrganisational decision makers need to be aware of the importance of reviewing practices regarding hiring, promotion and the allocation of tasks and duties for non-traditional role holders engaged in body work.Originality/valueThe article contributes to understandings of "body work" and physical capital in non-traditional occupations, illustrating how gender-based assumptions can restrict individuals in these roles to a greater extent than in other forms of work where the body is salient to the performance of the role.

This article examines the ongoing efforts of trade unions in Ireland to protect and improve the working conditions of personal care workers amid employment and social policy regimes associated with a liberal welfare state. Comparatively low public expenditure on care and the increasing marketisation of care services have undermined the provision of decent work. This article assesses two major union campaigns related to personal care workers over two decades, and reviews the key priorities that have emerged for unions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider whether the outcomes of these campaigns have been converted into enhanced rewards for workers and discuss the continuing challenges for union campaigning.

PurposeThe undervaluing of care work, whether conducted informally or formally, has long been subject to debate. While much discussion, and indeed reform has centred on childcare, there is a growing need, particularly in countries with ageing populations, to examine how long-term care (LTC) work is valued. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the way in which employment policies (female labour market participation, retirement age, and precarious work) and social policies (care entitlements and benefits/leave for carers) affect both informal carers and formal care workers in a liberal welfare state with a rapidly ageing population.Design/methodology/approachDrawing the adult worker model the authors use the existing literature on ageing care and employment to examine the approach of a liberal welfare state to care work focusing on both supports for informal carers and job quality in the formal care sector.FindingsThe research suggests that employment policies advocating increased labour participation, delaying retirement and treating informal care as a form of welfare are at odds with LTC strategies which encourage informal care. Furthermore, the latter policy acts to devalue formal care roles in an economic sense and potentially discourages workers from entering the formal care sector.Originality/valueTo date research investigating the interplay between employment and LTC policies has focused on either informal or formal care workers. In combining both aspects, we view informal and formal care workers as complementary, interdependent agents in the care process. This underlines the need to develop social policy regarding care and employment which encompasses the needs of each group concurrently.

While many studies investigate gender wage disparities, few have examined the impact of gender, education, part-time working and sector on earnings for men and women across different occupational groups and for different age groups. The purpose of this article is to undertake a more nuanced approach to further our understanding of the gender pay difference between men and women in different occupations in order to tackle and close this gap. The study's findings suggest that the labour market is segmented into primary and secondary jobs. Additionally, the earnings returns for education are generally lower for women compared to men and women appear to fare better in the public sector in terms of a lower earnings gap for full-time and part-time employees and higher returns for education compared to women working in the private sector. The article concludes with a discussion of the policy implications.

peer-reviewed ; Teaching is considered a highly regulated profession in Ireland. Teachers employed in state-funded secondary schools are required to be registered with the Irish Teaching Council, while the Department of Education and Skills is responsible for the coordination of teachers' employment (Heinz et al, 2017). Employment relations within the sector are regulated by legislation and collective agreements reached between this government department and the main trade unions, the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI), and the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) (Murphy et al, 2019). As a profession, teaching is viewed as one which has many advantages from a work-life balance (WLB) perspective, though research indicates that there is a need to introduce greater WLB policies and programmes for the teaching community (Miryala and Chiluka, 2012). International research argues that the commodification of education is contributing to the intensification of work and to greater performance management around teachers' work in other contexts (Fitzgerald et al, 2019; Frederickson, 2009; Merceille and Murphy, 2017). As such, the nature and context of work has changed and now shares more similarities with the private sector, in particular in relation to demands around working time, and the development of an "always on" culture (MacDowell and Kinman, 2017). The drivers for this can be viewed as symptomatic of broader societal changes brought about through enhanced technology (Mullan and Wacjman, 2019; Moore, 2017). ; PUBLISHED ; Peer reviewed

AbstractProponents of the geometric module hypothesis argue that following disorientation, many species reorient by use of macro‐environment geometry. It is suggested that attention to the surface layout geometry of natural terrain features may have been selected for over evolutionary time due to the enduring and unambiguous location information it provides. Paradoxically, however, tests of the hypothesis have been exclusively conducted in symmetric (hence 'unnatural' and geometrically ambiguous) environments. The present series of studies examines reorientation by 18‐month–3‐year‐old children in a rectangular versus irregular quadrilateral enclosure (Study 1), a rectangular versus irregular quadrilateral array (Study 2) and an isosceles versus irregular triangular array (Study 3). Children were successful in symmetric but not asymmetric environments, casting doubt on the functional argument for an empirical basis of the geometric module hypothesis.

Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Ireland -- Chapter 3: UK -- Chapter 4: Australia -- Chapter 5: New Zealand -- Chapter 6: USA -- Chapter 7: Canada -- Chapter 8: Implications for Workers in New Sectors of Economic Activity -- Chapter 9: Implications for Society - Between the Profit Imperative and Citizenship -- Chapter 10: Effective Responses to Zero Hours Work – Examples of the Role of Social Dialogue and Government Regulation -- Chapter 11: The Space for Regulation Beyond Borders? The Role of the EU in Regulating Zero Hours Work -- Chapter 12: The Space for Regulation Beyond Borders? The Role of the ILO and International Framework Agreements in Regulating Zero Hours Work -- Chapter 13: Conclusion

non-peer-reviewed ; Zero hours work is work with no guaranteed hours. Researchers at the Kemmy Business School (KBS), University of Limerick, have been examining the prevalence and impact of zero hours work and low hours work amongst Irish employees. Their government-commissioned 2015 report titled 'A Study on the Prevalence of Zero Hours Contracts Among Irish Employers and Their Impact on Employees' contained a series of recommendations on how to improve workers' rights. These recommendations aimed to improve workers' income security and formed the basis of public policy discussions on how to regulate zero hours and low hours work. Multiple political parties and workers rights organisations were involved in the public discussions, leading to a new piece of employment legislation, the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018, which was directly informed by the study. This legislation was the first significant enhancement of employment rights relating to working hours since the 1990s.