A History of Regulating Working Families : Strains, Stereotypes, Strategies and Solutions

Families in market economies have long been confronted by the demands of participating in paid work and providing care. Across Europe the social, economic and political environment within which families do so has been subject to substantial change in the post-World War II era and governments have come under increasing pressure to engage with this important area of public policy. In the UK, as elsewhere, the tensions which lie at the heart of the paid work/unpaid care conflict remain unresolved posing substantial difficulties for all of law's subjects both as carers and as the recipients of care. What seems like a relatively simple goal – to enable families to better balance care-giving and paid employment – has been subject to and shaped by shifting priorities over time leading to a variety of often conflicting policy approaches. This book critiques how working families in the UK have been subject to regulation. It has two aims: · To chart the development of the UK's law and policy framework by focusing on the post-war era and the growth and decline of the welfare state, considering a longer historical trajectory where appropriate. · To suggest an alternative policy approach based on Martha Fineman's vulnerability theory in which the vulnerable subject replaces the liberal subject as the focus of legal intervention. This reorientation enables a more inclusive and cohesive policy approach and has great potential to contribute to the reconciliation of the unresolved conflict between paid work and care-giving. "Families in market economies have long been confronted by the demands of participating in paid work and providing care. Across Europe the social, economic and political environment within which families do so has been subject to substantial change in the post-World War II era and governments have come under increasing pressure to engage with this important area of public policy. In the UK, as elsewhere, the tensions which lie at the heart of the paid work/unpaid care conflict remain unresolved posing substantial difficulties for all of law's subjects both as carers and as the recipients of care. What seems like a relatively simple goal - to enable families to better balance care-giving and paid employment - has been subject to and shaped by shifting priorities over time leading to a variety of often conflicting policy approaches. This book critiques how working families in the UK have been subject to regulation. It aims to: · Chart the development of the UK's law and policy framework by focusing on the post-war era and the growth and decline of the welfare state with a longer historical trajectory considered where appropriate. · Suggest an alternative policy approach based on Martha Fineman's vulnerability theory in which the vulnerable subject replaces the liberal subject as the focus of legal intervention. This reorientation enables a more inclusive and cohesive policy approach and has great potential to contribute to the reconciliation of the unresolved conflict between paid work and care-giving"-- Provided by publisher "Families in market economies have long been confronted by the demands of participating in paid work and providing care. Across Europe the social, economic and political environment within which families do so has been subject to substantial change in the post-World War II era and governments have come under increasing pressure to engage with this important area of public policy. In the UK, as elsewhere, the tensions which lie at the heart of the paid work/unpaid care conflict remain unresolved posing substantial difficulties for all of law's subjects both as carers and as the recipients of care. What seems like a relatively simple goal - to enable families to better balance care-giving and paid employment - has been subject to and shaped by shifting priorities over time leading to a variety of often conflicting policy approaches. This book critiques how working families in the UK have been subject to regulation. It aims to: · Chart the development of the UK's law and policy framework by focusing on the post-war era and the growth and decline of the welfare state with a longer historical trajectory considered where appropriate. · Suggest an alternative policy approach based on Martha Fineman's vulnerability theory in which the vulnerable subject replaces the liberal subject as the focus of legal intervention. This reorientation enables a more inclusive and cohesive policy approach and has great potential to contribute to the reconciliation of the unresolved conflict between paid work and care-giving"-- Résumé de l'éditeur "Families in market economies have long been confronted by the demands of participating in paid work and providing care. Across Europe the social, economic and political environment within which families do so has been subject to substantial change in the post-World War II era and governments have come under increasing pressure to engage with this important area of public policy. In the UK, as elsewhere, the tensions which lie at the heart of the paid work/unpaid care conflict remain unresolved posing substantial difficulties for all of law's subjects both as carers and as the recipients of care. What seems like a relatively simple goal (to enable families to better balance care-giving and paid employment) has been subject to and shaped by shifting priorities over time leading to a variety of often conflicting policy approaches. This book critiques how working families in the UK have been subject to regulation. It aims to: Chart the development of the UK's law and policy framework by focusing on the post-war era and the growth and decline of the welfare state with a longer historical trajectory considered where appropriate; Suggest an alternative policy approach based on Martha Fineman's vulnerability theory in which the vulnerable subject replaces the liberal subject as the focus of legal intervention. This reorientation enables a more inclusive and cohesive policy approach and has great potential to contribute to the reconciliation of the unresolved conflict between paid work and care-giving"-- Provided by the publisher Preface Contents 1. Introduction I. Scope and Aims II. Key Definitions III. Theoretical Underpinnings: Vulnerability IV. Context V. Methodology and Structure 2. Women and Work I. Introduction II. Private Work, Public Work and the Standard Worker Model III. Women's Work in Wartime IV. The 1960s and 1970s: The Fight for Equality V. The 1980s and 1990s: The Flexible Workforce VI. New Labour: The Birth of 'Family-Friendly' Employment Policy VII. Post-2010: Work–Family Balance in an Age of Austerity VIII. Imagining the Future: Vulnerability Theory and Women's Work IX. Conclusions 3. Mothers and Fathers I. Introduction II. Contextualising Reconciliation Policy III. The Emergence of a Reconciliation Framework IV. New Labour: Continuity and Change V. The Current Framework VI. Work and Families: The Call for Change VII. Conclusions 4. Children’s Welfare I. Introduction II. The Demise of Paid Child Labour III. The Importance of Education IV. State Acceptance of (Limited) Responsibility for Child Welfare V. Children's Welfare in the Current WFB Framework and the Appeal of Vulnerability Theory VI. Conclusions 5. Eldercare I. Introduction II. A History of Ageing and Eldercare III. Current WFB Rights for Working Carers and the Appeal of a Vulnerability Approach IV. Conclusions 6. Conclusions: Strains, Stereotypes, Strategies and Solutions I. Introduction II. The Subject of Regulation III. Institutions and Relationships IV. The Role of the State V. The Application of a Vulnerability Approach Index