Stories of Care: A Labour of Law

Stories of Care: A Labour of Law is an interdisciplinary study of the interactions of law and labour that shape paid care work. Based on the experiences of homecare workers, this highly topical text unpicks doctrinal assumptions about class and gender to interrogate contemporary labour law. It demonstrates how the UK’s crisis in social care is connected to the gendered inadequacy of labour law and argues for transformative change to law at work. 

‘Utterly compelling. Perhaps the best ever example in modern labour law scholarship of research-led recommendations.’ – Keith Ewing, Professor of Public Law, King’s College London

‘An important contribution to socio-legal research on care work and labour law.’ – Judy Fudge, Professor of Labour Law, University of Kent

‘Innovative and meticulous; merits a very wide readership.’ – Lizzie Barmes, Professor of Labour Law, Queen Mary University of London

‘A really important text which shows, through deep analysis of care workers’ stories, how badly undervalued their work is… It offers an excellent analysis.’ – Robin Allen QC, Cloisters Chambers

‘Boundary-breaking … an outstanding contribution to the growing field of feminist labour law scholarship.’ – Joanne Conaghan, Professor of Law, University of Bristol 

• care
• contract
• gender
• law
• research
• Gender and the law
• Employment and labour law
• Sociology work and labour
• Care of the elderly

“This book should be required reading for all politicians, employment tribunal judges, and social care professionals because it provides a clear and coherent explanation of the consequences of contemporary neo-liberal moves to privatize care. Stories of Care is also a masterclass in the importance of socio-legal research, accessible to students and care professionals, grounded in a first-rate empirical, qualitative, ethnography.” (Rosie Harding, Journal of Law and Society, Vol. 46 (1), March, 2019)

Winner of the Hart SLSA Prize for Early Career Academics 2018 and Winner of the Society of Legal Scholars ’Peter Birks’ Second Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2018

‘Utterly compelling. Perhaps the best ever example in modern labour law scholarship of research-led recommendations.’ – Keith Ewing, Professor of Public Law, King’s College London

‘An important contribution to socio-legal research on care work and labour law.’ – Judy Fudge, Professor of Labour Law, University of Kent

‘Innovative and meticulous; merits a very wide readership.’ – Lizzie Barmes, Professor of Labour Law, Queen Mary University of London

‘A really important text which shows, through deep analysis of care workers’ stories, how badly undervalued their work is… It offers an excellent analysis.’ – Robin Allen QC, Cloisters Chambers

‘A rare and valuable insight into the lives and views of women who work in the little known world of homecare for rates of pay and conditions that shame our society.’ – David Brindle, Public Services Editor, The Guardian

‘Boundary-breaking … an outstanding contribution to the growing field of feminist labour law scholarship.’ – Joanne Conaghan, Professor of Law, University of Bristol

• Law and Society Research Fellowship, Cardiff Law School, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom

  LJB Hayes

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