What do Franchisors do? Control and Commercialisation in Milk Distribution

UK dairies are increasingly replacing directly employed roundspeople with self-employed workers operating franchises. The financial benefits for the dairies are substantial and managers also see franchising as a solution to problems of labour control. For workers in the industry, however, the switch from direct employee to franchisee has been rather less rewarding. Many find that they are now working longer hours, in worse conditions, with no entitlement to sickness, holiday, redundancy or retirement benefits. This paper examines the management rationale behind franchising, the contractual relations it entails and the experience of franchisees. It then goes on to argue that despite labour process theory's traditional emphasis on direct, Taylorist-type employment relations, its concern with the variability of labour power can equally provide a useful starting point for the analysis of shifts away from `standard' direct employment.