Government Consultation on Women in the Labour Market and Work-Life Balance in the United Kingdom

Answer all the questions with each question 800 words

Section A: Compulsory Exercise

Please provide a response to the fictitious government consultation exercise set out below as if you were answering on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). To complete this exercise you must answer ALL FOUR of the questions. This task carries 50% of the marks for the assessment.

Government Consultation on Women in the Labour Market and Work-Life Balance in the United Kingdom
The government wishes to gather views on the rapidly changing engagement of women with paid work and the implications for policies designed to ensure work-life balance.

Alongside other developed economies, it is clear the UK’s labour market has been transformed in recent years by the growing engagement of women in paid work. For much of the twentieth century, the model of ‘standard’ employment was highly gendered and involved principally men. The long term trend, however, has seen women entering paid work and staying in the labour market for much longer periods. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS 2015) show that economic activity rates for men and women have been narrowing since 1973 and have now converged on a narrow band: 78% of men and 68.5% of women are in work. The employment rate for women is currently the highest since comparable records began in 1971. This reflects ongoing changes to the state pension age for women resulting in fewer women retiring between the ages of 60 and 65.
Q1: What implications for employers flow from the increase in women’s engagement in the labour market?

Clear differences exist nevertheless in the work done by women and men respectively. The Fawcett Society (2013) has drawn attention to continuing pay gaps between women and men of 15%. To a considerable extent, this is due to persistent labour market segregation – put simply women and men still tend to do jobs of different kinds. Several authors have highlighted the importance of the public sector as an employer of women and their relative absence in key parts of the private sector. The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee (BIS 2013) have highlighted occupational segregation as a continuing concern. Similarly, though the number of men working part-time increased through the recession (IPPR undated; ONS 2015) this rate is now declining and overall the majority of such workers are still women and part-time working tends to be a more enduring feature of their working lives. In a series of recommendations at the end of their recent report, the Fawcett Society (Ibid) called for greater government action to expand women’s access to employment opportunities across the private sector (in the context of contraction in public sector employment).
Q2: How does job segregation impact upon the working lives of women and men?
Q3: Is there a case for public policy intervention to support women into non-traditional working environments?

It is also clear that childcare responsibilities continue to structure women’s working lives to a greater extent than men’s. The Fourth Work-Life Balance Survey conducted by BIS (Tipping et al 2012) shows that 59% of women with dependent children work part-time, compared to 16% of men with dependent children. Several studies have highlighted the difficulties faced by households in balancing the demands of work and home life (e.g. Charles and James 2005; Warren 2003), particularly in contexts influenced by employment insecurity and low pay. In this context, support for child care arrangements is a critical factor yet an average of nearly two-thirds of private sector employers do not offer any, the survey shows. Rubery and Rafferty (2013) note the simultaneous withdrawal of state support to working mothers through the tax and benefit system and raise questions about the likely impact.
Q4: Is there a business case for childcare support from employers and/or from the state?

References
Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) Commitee (2013) Women in the Workplace: First Report of Session 2013-14. London, House of Commons. Available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmbis/342/342.pdf
Charles, N. and James, E. (2005) ‘He Earns the Bread and Butter and I Earn the Cream’: Job Insecurity and the Male Breadwinner Family in South Wales. Work Employment and Society. 19, 3: 481-502.
Fawcett Society (2013) The Changing Labour Market: Delivering for Women, Delivering for Growth. London, Fawcett Society. Available at http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Fawcett-The-changing-labour-market.pdf
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) (Undated) Trends in Part-Time and Temporary Work. London, IPPR. Available at http://www.ippr.org/assets/media/uploadedFiles/pressreleases/Part-time%20and%20temporary%20work%20technical%20briefing.pdf
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2015) Labour Market Statistics, February 2015. London, ONS. Available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_393554.pdf
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2015) Economic Review, February 2015. London, ONS. Available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171766_393934.pdf
Rubery, J. and Rafferty, A. (2013) Women and Recession Revisited. Work Employment and Society. 21, 2: 122-137.
Tipping, J., Chanfreau, J., Perry, J. and Tait, C. (2012) The Fourth Work-Life Balance Employee Survey. London, Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32153/12-p151-fourth-work-life-balance-employee-survey.pdf
Warren, T. (2003) Class and Gender Based Working Time? Time Poverty and the Division of Domestic Labour. Sociology, 27, 4:733-752.

Section B: Essay Questions

Section B: Essay Questions
Please answer FOUR questions from the choice of six below. This section carries 50% of the marks for the assessment, meaning that each of these answers is worth 25% of the total.

B1: ‘Low road’ employers in the UK and HRM
Suggested reading
Purcell, J. and Ahlstrand, B. (1989) ‘Corporate strategy and the management of employee relations in the multi-divisional company.’ British Journal of Industrial Relations 27,3: 396-417.
Sisson, K. and Purcell, J. (2010) ‘Management: caught between competing views of the organisation.’ In Colling, T. and Terry, M. (eds) Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice, chapter 4, pp..83-105.
Thompson, P. (2003) ‘Disconnected capitalism: or why employers can’t keep their side of the bargain.’ Work, Employment and Society 17,2: 359-378.
Thompson, P. (2011) ‘The trouble with HRM.’ Human Resource Management Journal 21,4: 355-367.
Whittington, R. (2001) What is Strategy- and does it matter? Thomson Learning

B2: EU labour migration and the UK labour market
Suggested reading
Anderson, B and Ruhs, M. (2010) Who Needs Migrant Workers? London: Oxford University Press. Pp4-56
CIPD (2014) The Growth of EU Labour: Assessing the Impact on the UK Labour Market, London, CIPD. Available at http://www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy/policy-reports/growth-eu-labour.aspx
MAC (2014) Migrants in Low-Skilled Work: the Growth of EU and non-EU Labour in Low-skilled Jobs and its Impact on the UK. London: Migration Advisory Committee, Home Office. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-in-low-skilled-work (full report and summary report available)
Migration Observatory (2014) Migrants in the UK Labour Market: An Overview. Oxford, COMPAS. Available at http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/migobs/Briefing%20-%20Migrants%20in%20the%20UK%20Labour%20Market_0.pdf
ONS (2014) Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, August, 2014. Statistical Bulletin. Newport. Available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_375307.pdf
Ruhs, M. and Vargas-Silva (2014) ‘The Labour Markets Effects of Immigration.’ Migration Observatory briefing, COMPAS, University of Oxford, UK, March 2014.

B3: Human resource professionals and statutory employment rights
Suggested reading
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) (2013) The Changing Contours of Fairness: Can we Match Individual and Organizational Perspectives? Research Report, November 2013. London, CIPD.
Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (2011) Flexible, Effective, Fair: Promoting Economic Growth Through a Strong and Efficient Labour Market. London, BIS.
Farnham, D. (2010) Chapter ten, pp.445-457.
Holgate, J., Pollert, A. and Keles, J. (2012) De-collectivization and employment problems: the experiences of minority ethnic workers seeking help through Citizen’s Advice. Work, Employment and Society 26,5: 772-788.
Smith, P. and Morton, G. (2006) Nine Years of New Labour: Neo-liberalism and Workers’ Rights. British Journal of Industrial Relations 44,3: 401-420.
Trades Union Congress (TUC) (2010) The Red Tape Delusion: Why Deregulation won’t Solve the Jobs Crisis. London, TUC.
Urwin, P. and Buscha, F. (2012) Back to Work: The Role of Small Business in Employment and Enterprise. London, Federation of Small Businesses.

B4: Organisations and environmental analysis
Suggested reading
Farnham, D. (2010) Chapter four, pp.144-183
Jackson,S. & Schuler, R. (1995) ‘Understanding Human Resource Management in the Context of Organisations & their Environments’, Anna Rev. Psychol. 1995. 46:237-64
Porter, M. (1985) Competitive Advantage: Creating & Sustaining Superior Performance, New York, Free Press
Schuler, R. & Jackson, S. (1987) ‘Linking Competitive Strategies with Human Resource Management’, Academy of Management Executive, vol 1, no 3, pp 207-219
Schuler, R. and Jackson, R. (2005) ‘A quarter century review of human resource management in the US: the growth in importance of the international perspective.’ Management Revue 16, 1-25.
Sisson, K. and Purcell, J. (2010) ‘Management: caught between competing views of the organisation.’ In Colling, T. and Terry, M. (eds) Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice, chapter 4, pp..83-105.

B5: Business strategy and human resource professionals
Suggested reading
Boxall, P. and Purcell, J. (2011) Strategy and Human Resource Management. 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Guest, D.E. Michie, J. Conway, N. & Shehan, M. (2003) ‘Human Resource Management and Corporate Performance in the UK’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 41:291-314
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) (2007) The Changing HR Function. London, CIPD.
Schuler, R. & Jackson, S. (1987) ‘Linking Competitive Strategies with Human Resource Management’, Academy of Management Executive, vol 1, no 3, pp 207-219
Sisson, K. and Purcell, J. (2010) ‘Management: caught between competing views of the organisation’, In Colling, T. and Terry, M. (eds) Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice, chapter 4, pp.83-105.
Thompson, P. (2011) ‘The trouble with HRM’, Human Resource Management Journal 21,4: 355-367.
Ulrich, D. (1997) ‘Measuring Human Resources: an Overview of Practice and a Prescription for Results’, Human Resource Management Vol 36, No 3, (Fall 1997): 303-20
Whittington, R. (2001) What is Strategy- and does it matter? Thomson Learning

B6: HRM in crisis?
Indicative reading
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) (2007) The Changing HR Function. London, CIPD.
————— (CIPD) (2011) Shaping the Future: Sustainable Organisational Performance, What Really Makes a Difference? London, CIPD
Farnham, D. (2010) Chapter one, pp.3-38.
Sisson, K. and Purcell, J. (2010) ‘Management: caught between competing views of the organisation’, In Colling, T. and Terry, M. (eds) Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice, chapter 4, pp.83-105.
Thompson, P. (2011) ‘The trouble with HRM.’ Human Resource Management Journal 21,4: 355-367.
Wright, P., McMahan, G., Snell, S., and Gerhart, B. (2001) ‘Comparing line and HR executives perceptions of effectiveness: services, roles and contributions.’ Human Resource Management 40,2: 111-123.

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