Moore, Sian and Hayes, L. J. B. (2017) Taking worker productivity to a new level? Electronic monitoring in homecare – the (re)production of unpaid labour. New Technology, Work and Employment, 32 (2). pp. 101-114. ISSN 0268-1072 (Print), 1468-005X (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12087)

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Abstract

The editors of this journal have outlined the capacity of digital technology to restructure the temporal dimensions of work and called for further focused empirical study (Howcroft and Taylor, 2014). This article explores the impact of the Electronic Monitoring (EM) of homecare work on working time in the context of severe financial pressures on public sector provision of social care in the UK. Homecare workers are overwhelmingly women and provide personal care to older and disabled people in their own homes (referred to as ‘service-users’ or ‘clients’). The vast majority are employed by private sector organisations delivering care that has been commissioned on a cost competitive basis by local authorities (Bessa, 2013; Rubery et al., 2015). It is proposed that EM in combination with Zero Hours Contracts (ZHCs) contribute to the reconfiguration of paid and unpaid working time because they enable the removal of what might be deemed ‘unproductive’ working time through ‘client contact only payments’ (where providers are paid only for the time that care workers are in the service-user’s home).

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	electronic monitoring, zero hour contracts, homecare workers
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business Faculty of Business > Centre for Work and Employment Research (CREW) Faculty of Business > Centre for Work and Employment Research (CREW) > Work & Employment Research Unit (WERU) Faculty of Business > Department of Human Resources & Organisational Behaviour
Last Modified:	30 Apr 2020 15:17
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/16688

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