Horodnic, I. and Williams, C.C. orcid.org/0000-0002-3610-1933 (2020) Evaluating the working conditions of the dependent self-employed. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, 26 (2). pp. 326-348. ISSN 1355-2554
Abstract
Purpose - In recent years, there has been a concern that employers are falsely classifying employees as self-employed to evade collective agreements and labour laws (e.g., minimum wages, working time legislation, protection in case of redundancy), and the result is that these dependent self-employed suffer poorer working conditions. The aim of this paper is to provide an extensive evaluation of the working conditions of those in dependent self-employment compared with the genuine self-employed.
Methodology - To do so, data is reported from a 2015 European Working Conditions Survey of 35,765 workers in 28 European Union member states.
Findings - Of the 4.3 per cent of the working population found to be in dependent self-employment, the finding is that they have similar working conditions to the genuine self-employed in terms of their physical and social environment and intensity of work. However, they have poorer job prospects and less ability to use their skills and discretion than the genuine self-employed. In terms of the working time quality, meanwhile, the finding is that they have better conditions than the genuine self-employed. Therefore, this analysis uncovers the need for a more nuanced understanding of the relative working conditions of the dependent self-employed.
Research implications/limitations - If the working conditions of the dependent self-employed are to be tackled, evaluation is now required of whether the current policy approaches, such as developing a hybrid category of employment with legal rights attached, address the specific working conditions that are worse for the dependent self-employed.
Originality/value - This is one of the few papers which provides an extensive evaluation of the working conditions of those in dependent self-employment in the EU28.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research. This version is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. |
Keywords: | self-employment; job quality; precarious work; European Union |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number European Commission - Horizon 2020 746358 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 14 Oct 2019 13:51 |
Last Modified: | 16 Dec 2021 11:18 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Emerald |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1108/IJEBR-07-2018-0445 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:151828 |
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