Premium
False Self‐Employment, Autonomy and Regulating for Decent Work: Improving Working Conditions in the UK Stripping Industry
Author(s) -
Cruz Katie,
Hardy Kate,
Sanders Teela
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
british journal of industrial relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.665
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-8543
pISSN - 0007-1080
DOI - 10.1111/bjir.12201
Subject(s) - autonomy , de facto , work (physics) , business , control (management) , scale (ratio) , labour economics , political science , economics , law , management , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics
A large‐scale study of working conditions in UK‐based strip dancing clubs reveals that dancers are against de facto self‐employment as it is defined and practised by management, but in favour of de jure self‐employment that ensures sufficient levels of autonomy and control in the workplace. While dancers could potentially seek ‘worker’ or ‘employee’ status within the existing legal framework, their strong identification with the label ‘self‐employed’ and their desire for autonomy will likely inhibit these labour rights claims. We propose an alternative avenue for improving dancers’ working conditions, whereby self‐employed dancers articulate their grievances as a demand for decent work, pursued through licensing agreements between clubs and local authorities and facilitated by collective organization.