Work and Care: New Legal Mechanisms for Adaptation

Abstract

This article discusses a number of legal developments that are designed to help workers adapt their jobs in order to care for others. There is evidence of an increased permeability of work to care in some jurisdictions, especially those in the European Union. The new legal developments considered are the creation of a specific category of leave to attend to care emergencies, a broadening of the legal definitions of those who may be cared for, and improved access to and quality of part-time work. The paper concludes that, without legal intervention, the task of self-regulating work and care is unnecessarily burdensome to those, chiefly women, who undertake it.