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

Christina Hiessl ()
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Christina Hiessl: Institute of Labour Law, KU Leuven, Blijde Inkomststraat 17, Bus 3423, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-21

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.

Keywords: care work; domestic work; live-in work; labour rights; equal treatment; long-term care; minimum wage; labour law; social security; labour migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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