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Labour Rights for Live-In Care Workers: The Long and Bumpy Road Ahead

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Listed:
  • Christina Hiessl

    (Institute of Labour Law, KU Leuven, Blijde Inkomststraat 17, Bus 3423, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
    Graduate School of Social Welfare, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

Domestic work, as one of the most feminised occupations in existence, is also one of those least likely to offer a prospect of equal treatment with workers in other sectors. Notably, live-in domestic workers are regularly excluded from even the most fundamental entitlements such as that to an hourly minimum wage. The rise of an international industry organising live-in care work for the frail and disabled brings the questions of how to regulate this sector back to the table also and especially in the most affluent countries. Departing from a prominent recent court decision in Germany, the contribution explores how jurisdictions around the globe approach the key legal questions determining the labour rights of live-ins. On this basis, it offers a discussion of the way forward in a policy area which urgently requires an honest discussion of how to balance conflicting vital interest of different disadvantaged groups in a fair and realistic way.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Hiessl, 2022. "Labour Rights for Live-In Care Workers: The Long and Bumpy Road Ahead," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:12:p:547-:d:984637
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shahra RAZAVI & Silke STAAB, 2010. "Underpaid and overworked: A cross-national perspective on care workers," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 149(4), pages 407-422, December.
    2. Huey Shy Chau & Karin Schwiter, 2021. "Who shapes migration in open labour markets? Analysing migration infrastructures and brokers of circularly migrating home care workers in Switzerland," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(5), pages 724-738, September.
    3. Agnes Turnpenny & Shereen Hussein, 2022. "Migrant Home Care Workers in the UK: a Scoping Review of Outcomes and Sustainability and Implications in the Context of Brexit," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 23-42, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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