Homebased Work

With the globalization process the number of homebased workers has grown tremendously and homebased work has become a symbol of precarious and unprotected work, carried out mostly by women worldwide. On the other hand homebased work has been promoted as a flexible way of earning money. It has been advertised as a way of combining family care and career. Question therefore is whether homebased work offers flexibility to women workers or it is a precarious work hidden behind the walls of households with no clear rules and security.

The ILO Convention No 177 from 1996 defines homebased work as a specific kind of activities carried out at home, which provide financial earnings but do not concern daily chores. Workers engaged in these activities are not formally employed and have no workers’ rights (such as health, safety and social insurance, sick and maternity leave, paid holidays etc.). These activities are not registered as business activities, and those who carry them out have no regular income. For our purpose we broadened the definition of homebased work. We included also a formal employment (not freelance). We excluded also teleworking or door-to door sale.

Does HBW occur in CZ? Is it only a marginal issue? Is the number of homebased workers growing lately? Who are homebased workers, are they mainly women? What types of HBW are carried out in CZ? What are advantages and disadvantages of HBW? EKS took up these topics and chose HBW as one of its core issues. We carried out the pilot research in 2002. The aim of the research was to find homebased workers and initial information about HBW in CZ. This initiative was followed up by the more detailed qualitative research that was carried out from 1st October 2005 till 31st January 2006.

First pilot research on homebased work in CZ, 1st March – 1st December 2002

The qualitative research was focused on working conditions and motivation of persons who carry out homebased work. It was proved that mostly women have also carried out HBW in the Czech Republic. Majority of our respondents were women who stayed at home on parental leave with little children. They carried out HBW in order to match an income from social benefits. Other two groups of respondents consisted of retired women who did HBW as an extra job while having pension and women who carried out HBW as a main source of income. Only a minority of women had a job contract. We also found out that HBW is subcontracted not only by small Czech companies but also by large international corporations and that there is a clear link between HBW and globalising market. Most of the products were exported out of the country. Key reason for doing HBW was a precarious financial situation. Several homebased workers were single mothers or women coming from families with low income. Common characteristics for all women who took part in the research on HBW were low wages and irregular orders. Majority of women regarded HBW as a temporary job. The number of respondents was 15.

Detailed qualitative research of homebased and informal work in CZ, 1st October 2005 – 31st January 2006

The follow-up three-year partnership project (2005 – 2008) has been carried out in the frame of the Equal Community initiative.

Having had used the results of the previous research ECG assumed that women choose HBW because they are disadvantaged on the regular labour market. The research again focused on types of HBW, social and working conditions of homebased workers and also on a connection between discrimination in the labour market and HBW. This time we aimed to find women who chose HBW as a flexible job, not just because it was an only possibility as it occurred in the precious research. We used the method of semi-structured interviews with women. The core aim of the research was not only investigation into living and working conditions and analysis but also incorporating of findings into the general framework for promotion of equal opportunities in the labour market in CZ.

Results of the research has been published and widely disseminated. If you want to learn more about homebased work in the Czech Republic, you can download the whole report in pdf format.

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