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Taking worker productivity to a new level? Electronic Monitoring in homecare—the (re)production of unpaid labour
Author(s) -
Moore Sian,
Hayes L J B
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
new technology, work and employment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.889
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1468-005X
pISSN - 0268-1072
DOI - 10.1111/ntwe.12087
Subject(s) - productivity , context (archaeology) , production (economics) , labour economics , unpaid work , business , project commissioning , economics , publishing , work (physics) , economic growth , engineering , political science , microeconomics , mechanical engineering , paleontology , law , biology
This article explores the use of Electronic Monitoring ( EM ) in homecare and its impact on the ratio of paid to unpaid working time. It argues that whilst Zero Hours Contracts ( ZHC s) blur the distinction between paid and unpaid labour, the introduction of EM can formalise and regulate the demarcation between the two. In the context of local authority commissioning and constrained budgets, the combination of EM and ZHC 's may excise so‐called ‘unproductive’ but available labour from homecare. In particular, the minute‐by‐minute commissioning of care that EM facilitates means the cost of homecare is anchored in the time that worker's spend in client's houses, squeezing out paid travel, time between visits, training and supervision. Paid working time is minimised whilst maximising the use of unpaid time with resulting intensification of care labour.