The regulation of ‘flexible’ or ‘non-standard’ forms of work is among the key challenges in adapting labour laws to the needs of the contemporary workforce. In recent decades, labour laws have been exposed to be designed around the ‘standard’ model of the full-time permanent employee. In response, efforts have been made to identify techniques of regulating working arrangements that diverge from this paradigm and extend protection to workers engaged in what can be highly precarious forms of work. This book contributes to that endeavour by examining the evolution in the treatment of non-standard ... More

The regulation of ‘flexible’ or ‘non-standard’ forms of work is among the key challenges in adapting labour laws to the needs of the contemporary workforce. In recent decades, labour laws have been exposed to be designed around the ‘standard’ model of the full-time permanent employee. In response, efforts have been made to identify techniques of regulating working arrangements that diverge from this paradigm and extend protection to workers engaged in what can be highly precarious forms of work. This book contributes to that endeavour by examining the evolution in the treatment of non-standard workers under United Kingdom labour law. To do this, it focuses on a number of the most prominent of these forms of work, including part-time, fixed-term, casual, and temporary agency work. It examines how the divergence of these working arrangements from the standard model has precluded or tempered the protection of the workers engaged in them. It also evaluates the more recent set of legislative reforms tailored towards enhancing the protection of non-standard workers. The central concern of the book is the articulation of these measures within a policy discourse centred on the need for a flexible labour market. It recognizes that non-standard workers have gained visibility and protection through being recognised as distinct subjects of labour law. It is argued, however, that the regulation of non-standard work within the context of an overarching quest for labour market flexibility has reduced the level of protection afforded to the workers involved.