The Legal Regulation of Working Time in Domestic Work

Abstract

Domestic work is the subject of a standard-setting process within the International Labour Organization (ILO) that is expected to generate international legal instruments in 2011. The ILO‘s initial report as part of this process sought ―particular guidance on identifying, limiting and appropriately calculating working time‖ for domestic workers (ILO, 2009). The present study addresses this dimension of domestic work. Its goal is to examine and suggest potential frameworks for the regulation of working time. The study proposes regulatory techniques, which are outlined in a Model Law set out in the annex to the study. The study‘s ―framed flexibility‖ approach to working time regulation is based on the needs and vulnerabilities of domestic workers and the particular nature of the demand for their labour by employers and clients. This model is based on a recognition that working time laws must address key areas in which decent work is likely to be threatened, as well as providing the necessary flexibility for domestic workers to provide a vital service to the family home.