Once an overlooked theme in legal scholarship, the legal treatment of migrant domestic workers ha... more Once an overlooked theme in legal scholarship, the legal treatment of migrant domestic workers has recently seen a significant growth of scholarly interest. In European legal scholarship, much of the focus has been on severe forms of exploitation such as slavery, forced labour and trafficking. While extreme abuses of migrant domestic workers certainly do take place in Europe, they are only part of the story. This article critiques the turn to modern slavery and trafficking as the dominant frame for analysing migrant domestic workers’ vulnerability in Europe and proposes a corrective lens. I argue that it is instead more useful, and potentially more deeply transformative, to comparatively examine the role of national labour and migration law regimes in the regulation of migrant domestic workers, as well as, the role of eu law in constructing and challenging these regimes.
Giornale del diritto del lavoro e di relazioni industriali, 2018
L'impegno della dottrina femminista nel diritto del lavoro non è certo cosa recente. Già da alcu... more L'impegno della dottrina femminista nel diritto del lavoro non è certo cosa recente. Già da alcuni decenni, coloro che hanno fatto proprio l'approccio femminista hanno rifiutato la costruzione dogmatica che assume il diritto del lavoro, e la sua sistematizzazione, come "gender-neutral", per perseguire, invece, lo scopo di porre proprio la questione di genere al centro della propria analisi. Detto approccio è stato utilizzato per ripensare e discutere temi quali l'ambito di applicazione del diritto del lavoro; l'efficacia dei sindacati e della contrattazione collettiva nella rappresentanza degli interessi dei lavoratori e delle lavoratrici; la stessa idoneità del contratto di lavoro a costituire la porta di accesso per i diritti e le tutele del e sul lavoro.
The intersection of gender, welfare and immigration regimes has been one of the main focus of a r... more The intersection of gender, welfare and immigration regimes has been one of the main focus of a rich scholarship on paid domestic work in Europe. This article brings into the discussion the nexus of employment and immigration law regimes to reflect on the role of legal regulation in structuring and reducing the vulnerability of domestic workers. I analyse this nexus by looking at the cases of Cyprus and Spain, two states falling under the cluster of Southern Mediterranean welfare regimes, that share certain characteristics in terms of immigration regimes, but have substantially different employment law regulation models. The first part sketches the debate on the employment law regulation of domestic work. The second part starts by giving an overview of the immigration regimes of Cyprus and Spain in relation to migrant domestic workers and then proceeds to analyse the two countries’ models and substance of employment law regulation in domestic work. The comparison of these two divergent approaches informs the debate on how the legal regulation of domestic work should be best structured. In Spain there have been recent dynamic legislative changes in the employment law regulation of domestic work. The final part of the article traces these changes and reflects on why such processes have not taken place in Cyprus.
The importance of EU employment law sources as tools to challenge the vulnerability of domestic w... more The importance of EU employment law sources as tools to challenge the vulnerability of domestic workers has surprisingly been a neglected theme in the growing legal scholarship on paid domestic work in Europe. This is due to a flawed assumption that EU employment law does not apply to domestic workers. I challenge this assumption and provide a more nuanced picture. My aim is twofold: to show clearly when EU employment law applies to domestic workers and what rights and protections they can derive. From this follows the broader conclusion that EU employment law is an important but misunderstood resource for domestic workers.
Globalisation on the digital economy and the law. After summarising the literature and setting ou... more Globalisation on the digital economy and the law. After summarising the literature and setting out some of the key issues raised by digitalisation in general and online platforms in particular for labour rights, it introduces the contents of the issue in detail, positioning them in relation to these larger debates.
This book explores the often neglected, but overwhelmingly common, everyday vulnerability of thos... more This book explores the often neglected, but overwhelmingly common, everyday vulnerability of those who support the smooth functioning of contemporary societies: paid domestic workers.
With a focus on the multiple disadvantages these – often migrant – workers face when working and living in Europe, the book investigates the role of law in producing, reinforcing – or, alternatively, attenuating – vulnerability to exploitation. It departs from approaches that focus on extreme abuse such as 'modern' slavery or trafficking, to consider the much more widespread day-to-day vulnerabilities created at the intersection of different legal regimes. The book, therefore, examines issues such as low wages, unregulated working time, dismissals and the impact of migration status on enforcing rights at work.
The complex legal regimes regulating migrant domestic labour in Europe include migration and labour law sources at different levels: international, national and, as this book demonstrates, also EU. With an innovative lens that combines national, comparative, and multilevel analysis, this book opens up space for transformative legal change for migrant domestic workers in Europe and beyond.
Once an overlooked theme in legal scholarship, the legal treatment of migrant domestic workers ha... more Once an overlooked theme in legal scholarship, the legal treatment of migrant domestic workers has recently seen a significant growth of scholarly interest. In European legal scholarship, much of the focus has been on severe forms of exploitation such as slavery, forced labour and trafficking. While extreme abuses of migrant domestic workers certainly do take place in Europe, they are only part of the story. This article critiques the turn to modern slavery and trafficking as the dominant frame for analysing migrant domestic workers’ vulnerability in Europe and proposes a corrective lens. I argue that it is instead more useful, and potentially more deeply transformative, to comparatively examine the role of national labour and migration law regimes in the regulation of migrant domestic workers, as well as, the role of eu law in constructing and challenging these regimes.
Giornale del diritto del lavoro e di relazioni industriali, 2018
L'impegno della dottrina femminista nel diritto del lavoro non è certo cosa recente. Già da alcu... more L'impegno della dottrina femminista nel diritto del lavoro non è certo cosa recente. Già da alcuni decenni, coloro che hanno fatto proprio l'approccio femminista hanno rifiutato la costruzione dogmatica che assume il diritto del lavoro, e la sua sistematizzazione, come "gender-neutral", per perseguire, invece, lo scopo di porre proprio la questione di genere al centro della propria analisi. Detto approccio è stato utilizzato per ripensare e discutere temi quali l'ambito di applicazione del diritto del lavoro; l'efficacia dei sindacati e della contrattazione collettiva nella rappresentanza degli interessi dei lavoratori e delle lavoratrici; la stessa idoneità del contratto di lavoro a costituire la porta di accesso per i diritti e le tutele del e sul lavoro.
The intersection of gender, welfare and immigration regimes has been one of the main focus of a r... more The intersection of gender, welfare and immigration regimes has been one of the main focus of a rich scholarship on paid domestic work in Europe. This article brings into the discussion the nexus of employment and immigration law regimes to reflect on the role of legal regulation in structuring and reducing the vulnerability of domestic workers. I analyse this nexus by looking at the cases of Cyprus and Spain, two states falling under the cluster of Southern Mediterranean welfare regimes, that share certain characteristics in terms of immigration regimes, but have substantially different employment law regulation models. The first part sketches the debate on the employment law regulation of domestic work. The second part starts by giving an overview of the immigration regimes of Cyprus and Spain in relation to migrant domestic workers and then proceeds to analyse the two countries’ models and substance of employment law regulation in domestic work. The comparison of these two divergent approaches informs the debate on how the legal regulation of domestic work should be best structured. In Spain there have been recent dynamic legislative changes in the employment law regulation of domestic work. The final part of the article traces these changes and reflects on why such processes have not taken place in Cyprus.
The importance of EU employment law sources as tools to challenge the vulnerability of domestic w... more The importance of EU employment law sources as tools to challenge the vulnerability of domestic workers has surprisingly been a neglected theme in the growing legal scholarship on paid domestic work in Europe. This is due to a flawed assumption that EU employment law does not apply to domestic workers. I challenge this assumption and provide a more nuanced picture. My aim is twofold: to show clearly when EU employment law applies to domestic workers and what rights and protections they can derive. From this follows the broader conclusion that EU employment law is an important but misunderstood resource for domestic workers.
Globalisation on the digital economy and the law. After summarising the literature and setting ou... more Globalisation on the digital economy and the law. After summarising the literature and setting out some of the key issues raised by digitalisation in general and online platforms in particular for labour rights, it introduces the contents of the issue in detail, positioning them in relation to these larger debates.
This book explores the often neglected, but overwhelmingly common, everyday vulnerability of thos... more This book explores the often neglected, but overwhelmingly common, everyday vulnerability of those who support the smooth functioning of contemporary societies: paid domestic workers.
With a focus on the multiple disadvantages these – often migrant – workers face when working and living in Europe, the book investigates the role of law in producing, reinforcing – or, alternatively, attenuating – vulnerability to exploitation. It departs from approaches that focus on extreme abuse such as 'modern' slavery or trafficking, to consider the much more widespread day-to-day vulnerabilities created at the intersection of different legal regimes. The book, therefore, examines issues such as low wages, unregulated working time, dismissals and the impact of migration status on enforcing rights at work.
The complex legal regimes regulating migrant domestic labour in Europe include migration and labour law sources at different levels: international, national and, as this book demonstrates, also EU. With an innovative lens that combines national, comparative, and multilevel analysis, this book opens up space for transformative legal change for migrant domestic workers in Europe and beyond.
Uploads
Papers by Vera Pavlou
first part sketches the debate on the employment law regulation of domestic work. The second part starts by giving an overview of the immigration regimes of Cyprus and Spain in relation to migrant domestic workers and then proceeds to analyse the two countries’ models and substance of employment law regulation in domestic work. The comparison of these two divergent approaches informs the debate on how the legal regulation of domestic work should be best structured. In Spain there have been recent dynamic legislative changes in the employment law regulation of domestic work. The final part of the article traces these changes and reflects on why such processes have not taken place in Cyprus.
Books by Vera Pavlou
With a focus on the multiple disadvantages these – often migrant – workers face when working and living in Europe, the book investigates the role of law in producing, reinforcing – or, alternatively, attenuating – vulnerability to exploitation. It departs from approaches that focus on extreme abuse such as 'modern' slavery or trafficking, to consider the much more widespread day-to-day vulnerabilities created at the intersection of different legal regimes. The book, therefore, examines issues such as low wages, unregulated working time, dismissals and the impact of migration status on enforcing rights at work.
The complex legal regimes regulating migrant domestic labour in Europe include migration and labour law sources at different levels: international, national and, as this book demonstrates, also EU. With an innovative lens that combines national, comparative, and multilevel analysis, this book opens up space for transformative legal change for migrant domestic workers in Europe and beyond.
first part sketches the debate on the employment law regulation of domestic work. The second part starts by giving an overview of the immigration regimes of Cyprus and Spain in relation to migrant domestic workers and then proceeds to analyse the two countries’ models and substance of employment law regulation in domestic work. The comparison of these two divergent approaches informs the debate on how the legal regulation of domestic work should be best structured. In Spain there have been recent dynamic legislative changes in the employment law regulation of domestic work. The final part of the article traces these changes and reflects on why such processes have not taken place in Cyprus.
With a focus on the multiple disadvantages these – often migrant – workers face when working and living in Europe, the book investigates the role of law in producing, reinforcing – or, alternatively, attenuating – vulnerability to exploitation. It departs from approaches that focus on extreme abuse such as 'modern' slavery or trafficking, to consider the much more widespread day-to-day vulnerabilities created at the intersection of different legal regimes. The book, therefore, examines issues such as low wages, unregulated working time, dismissals and the impact of migration status on enforcing rights at work.
The complex legal regimes regulating migrant domestic labour in Europe include migration and labour law sources at different levels: international, national and, as this book demonstrates, also EU. With an innovative lens that combines national, comparative, and multilevel analysis, this book opens up space for transformative legal change for migrant domestic workers in Europe and beyond.