Female atypical employment in the service occupations: a comparative study of time trends in Germany and the UK

Summary

Atypical employment comprises ‘any type of employment that is not fulltime and permanent with a single direct employer’ (Hevenstone, 2010: 315). Employment on fixed-term contracts, by a temporary work agency, on a part-time basis as well as self-employment and freelancing constitute atypical work (ibid.). Atypical jobs are a central dimension of labour market inequality. Despite important differences between the various forms of atypical employment, they have in common that they offer lower pay, fewer opportunities for career advancement, and more limited access to work-related benefits than standard employment (e.g. Kalleberg, 2000; Kalleberg et al., 2000; OECD, 2002; Mertens and McGinnity, 2004; McGovern et al., 2004; Russo and Hassink, 2008; Fouarge and Muffels, 2009). One form of atypical work – fixed-term employment – carries the additional disadvantage of employment insecurity: employees on fixed-term contracts have a high risk of repeat spells of temporary work as well as unemployment (e.g. Giesecke and Groß, 2003).