The effects of non-standard forms of employment on worker health and safety Michael Quinlan CONDITIONS OF WORK AND EMPLOYMENT SERIES No. 67 INWORK Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 67 Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch The effects of non-standard forms of employment on worker health and safety Michael Quinlan* * School of Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE - GENEVA Copyright © International Labour Organization 2015 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to the Publications Bureau (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. 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ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data Quinlan, Michael The effects of non-standard forms of employment on worker health and safety / Michael Quinlan; International Labour Office, Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch. - Geneva: ILO, 2015 (Conditions of work and employment series ; No. 67) International Labour Office Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch. precarious employment / temporary employment / informal employment / self-employment / occupational health / occupational safety / working conditions / hours of work / employment policy 13.01.3 First published 2015 Cover: DTP/Design Unit, ILO The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. 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Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Evidence on the health effects of non-standard work ................................................................ 3 2.1 Temporary work ...................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Triangular/temporary agency work ......................................................................................... 5 2.3 Home-based work ................................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Part-time work ........................................................................................................................ 9 2.5 Dependent self-employment and subcontracting .................................................................. 10 2.6 Bogus/undeclared work and the informal sector ................................................................... 11 2.7 The nexus between non-standard work and vulnerable workers .......................................... 13 3. The hazardous characteristics of non-standard work ............................................................. 14 3.1 Economic insecurity and reward pressures ........................................................................... 14 3.2 Disorganisation ..................................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Regulatory failure and social welfare gaps ........................................................................... 17 4. Policy responses and recommendations .................................................................................... 20 References ............................................................................................................................................ 25 Conditions of Work and Employment Series ................................................................................... 37 Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 67 iii 1. Introduction The past 40 years have witnessed significant changes to work arrangements globally These changes include: Widespread and often repeated rounds of restructuring/downsizing by large private and public sector employers Changes to employment status, especially a growth of fixed-term, on-call, casual/temporary workers and ‘conversion’ of employees to self-employed subcontractor status A growth of undeclared work (also known as the black economy) and the informal sector. Outsourcing/subcontracting (including multi-tiered subcontracting) of activities by employers (including international outsourcing often referred to as ‘off-shoring’). The outsourcing of activities also includes the provision of labour on a temporary basis by a growing number of firms (some international) specialising in this activity, namely temporary employment agencies or leased labour firms A growth in remote/mobile, tele-work and home-based work Privatisation of public sector activities and adoption of private sector management techniques in the public sector A decline in job security/tenure Changes to working hours arrangements including the growth of night-/afternoon work, extended shifts, part-time and irregular working hours Changes to work intensity and psychosocial conditions at work Overall, the changes have been characterised by less contract duration and job security, more irregular working hours (both in terms of duration and consistency), increased use of third parties (temporary employment agencies), growth of various forms of dependent self-employment (like subcontracting and franchising) and also bogus/informal work arrangements (i.e. arrangements deliberately outside the regulatory framework of labour, social protection and other laws). The factors underpinning these changes are complex but include shifts in business/employment practices, weakening union influence and government policies/regulatory regimes to promote labour market ‘flexibility’ and weaken collectivist regimes (where these existed).1 The growth of international supply chains means that work has often been relocated to countries where union presence and regulatory protection is weak or non-existent. A number of terms have been coined to try to encapsulate the changes just described notably non-standard work, precarious employment and contingent work. For the purpose of this report the term non-standard work will be used that includes temporary employment, temporary employment agency work, part-time work, dependent self-employment and undeclared work/informal sector work.2 While a categorical approach has value in understanding the nature and implications of changes to work a number of caveats need to be made. 1 See Benach & Muntaner (2013). 2 ILO (2015a). Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 67 1 First, changes to work arrangements should be viewed in terms of a spectrum rather than simply the growth of particular categories. For example, global changes to business practices including repeated rounds of downsizing/restructuring by large private and public sector employers), privatisation, outsourcing/offshoring and ‘converting’ employees into self-employer subcontractors have not only increased the number of workers holding shorter contract duration work. These changes have also increased job insecurity amongst those workers continuing to hold ongoing/permanent jobs, adversely affecting their health, safety and well-being.3 Further, the growth of temporary, agency and self-employment in combination with the presence of vulnerable immigrant groups (especially undocumented workers) appears to have increased the scope for bogus/informal work, especially in traditionally poorly regulated sectors like agriculture and construction. In sum, different categories of work interact and this can flow on to health and safety effects so that simply comparing non-standard to what is deemed as standard