Barnflickor och tjänstehjon - en kritisk analys av hushållslagen
(2013) LAGF03 20132Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Den här uppsatsens syfte är att kritiskt analysera Lag (1970:943) om arbetstid m.m. för husligt anställda – även kallad hushållslagen - ur två perspektiv; dels ett rättshistorisk, dels ett genusrättsligt.
Den senaste legostadgan från 1833 var snarare en befolkningspolitisk lagstiftning än en arbetsrättslig sådan. För att undvika belastning på samhället föreskrev den tjänstetvång för alla myndiga personer som inte kunde försörja sig själva, och ett starkt subordinationsförhållande mellan parterna skapades. I och med arbetarrörelsens framgångar vid 1900-talets början förändrades debatten, och för industriarbetarna togs skyddslagstiftning fram. Husligt anställda undantogs dock från denna reglering, med effekt att området lämnades... (More) - Den här uppsatsens syfte är att kritiskt analysera Lag (1970:943) om arbetstid m.m. för husligt anställda – även kallad hushållslagen - ur två perspektiv; dels ett rättshistorisk, dels ett genusrättsligt.
Den senaste legostadgan från 1833 var snarare en befolkningspolitisk lagstiftning än en arbetsrättslig sådan. För att undvika belastning på samhället föreskrev den tjänstetvång för alla myndiga personer som inte kunde försörja sig själva, och ett starkt subordinationsförhållande mellan parterna skapades. I och med arbetarrörelsens framgångar vid 1900-talets början förändrades debatten, och för industriarbetarna togs skyddslagstiftning fram. Husligt anställda undantogs dock från denna reglering, med effekt att området lämnades oreglerat. 1944 års hembiträdeslag kom till för att försöka råda brist på den hembiträdesbrist som uppstod när alltfler unga kvinnor kunde börja arbeta inom industrin, där bättre villkor och lön fanns tillgängligt.
Hushållslagen trädde i kraft 1970. Lagen var i stora delar en kompromiss mellan målen likabehandling för arbetstagarna och barnpassningsmöjlighet för tvåkarriärshushåll. Denna kompromiss innebar att husligt anställda undantogs från den övriga arbetsrättslagstiftningen på ett antal punkter: bland annat vad gäller uppsägningsmöjligheter, tillsyn och arbetstid. Husligt anställdas specialsituation intensifieras ytterligare av bristen på fackförbund på området. Denna brist har lett till att de anställda själva får se till att deras rättigheter blir tillgodosedda.
Den nuvarande lagstiftningen är både ett uttryck för och en konsekvens av den svenska genusordningen. Förvärvsarbete är den manliga normen, och könskodningen på den svenska arbetsmarknaden innebär att ju närmare det privata hushållet ett arbete kommer, desto mer kvinnligt anses det. Detta får effekten att arbetet får en låg status på arbetsmarknaden, och arbetstagarna marginaliseras. Hushållslagen fungerar som ett uttryck för isärhållandets princip: manligt och kvinnligt hålls isär på arbetsmarknaden genom speciallagstiftning. Lagen i sig bidrar även till att upprätthålla uppfattningen att hushållsarbete har lägre status: genom att separera husligt anställda från övrig arbetsrättslagstiftning ges intrycket att detta arbete är mindre värt, och arbetstagarna får fortsatt svårt att hävda sina rättigheter. (Less) - Abstract
- The purpose of this essay is to analyse the Swedish Domestic Work Act (1970:943) from two perspectives; one legal historical and one gender perspective.
The latest so-called legostadga from 1833 worked more as legislation for population policy than for labour regulations. In order to avoid putting pressure on society, it forced all citizens who were of age and unable to support themselves to work as domestic servants, which created a strong subordination between the employer and the employee. The debate changed with the success of the labour movement, and protective legislation for industrial workers was created. However, domestic workers were exempt from the legislation, which had the effect that the area was left unregulated. The... (More) - The purpose of this essay is to analyse the Swedish Domestic Work Act (1970:943) from two perspectives; one legal historical and one gender perspective.
The latest so-called legostadga from 1833 worked more as legislation for population policy than for labour regulations. In order to avoid putting pressure on society, it forced all citizens who were of age and unable to support themselves to work as domestic servants, which created a strong subordination between the employer and the employee. The debate changed with the success of the labour movement, and protective legislation for industrial workers was created. However, domestic workers were exempt from the legislation, which had the effect that the area was left unregulated. The Domestic Work Act of 1944 was created as an attempt to remedy the servant crisis that came as a result of young women starting to work in the industry instead, where they could find better working conditions and higher wages.
The Domestic Work Act of 1970 was in large a compromise between the goal of equal treatment for the employees and the need for childcare for the households where both parents were working professionally. This compromise meant that domestic workers were exempt from the other labour regulations regarding some aspects. These include, but are not limited to, termination of contracts, supervision and working hours. This situation for domestic workers is further intensified by the lack of trade unions. This deficiency has led to the workers having to make sure that their rights are being asserted on their own, without the support of a strong union.
The current regulations are both an expression and a consequence of the Swedish gender order. Paid work on the official labour market is the male norm, and the gender coding on the Swedish labour market means that the closer to the private household a profession gets, the more female it is perceived. This has the effect that the profession gets a low status on the labour market, and the workers are marginalised. The Domestic Work Act expresses the principle of separation: what is seen as male and female is separated on the labour market through special legislation. The law in itself also helps maintain the idea that domestic work has a lower status; by separating the domestic workers from the remaining workforce, an impression is created that leads to domestic work being valued less, and it keeps being difficult for the workers to assert their rights. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4227294
- author
- Persson, Hanna LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20132
- year
- 2013
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- arbetsrätt, labour law, genusrättsvetenskap, hushållslagen, Domestic Work Act, rättshistoria, legal history
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4227294
- date added to LUP
- 2014-02-04 11:07:17
- date last changed
- 2014-02-04 11:07:17
@misc{4227294,
abstract = {{The purpose of this essay is to analyse the Swedish Domestic Work Act (1970:943) from two perspectives; one legal historical and one gender perspective.
The latest so-called legostadga from 1833 worked more as legislation for population policy than for labour regulations. In order to avoid putting pressure on society, it forced all citizens who were of age and unable to support themselves to work as domestic servants, which created a strong subordination between the employer and the employee. The debate changed with the success of the labour movement, and protective legislation for industrial workers was created. However, domestic workers were exempt from the legislation, which had the effect that the area was left unregulated. The Domestic Work Act of 1944 was created as an attempt to remedy the servant crisis that came as a result of young women starting to work in the industry instead, where they could find better working conditions and higher wages.
The Domestic Work Act of 1970 was in large a compromise between the goal of equal treatment for the employees and the need for childcare for the households where both parents were working professionally. This compromise meant that domestic workers were exempt from the other labour regulations regarding some aspects. These include, but are not limited to, termination of contracts, supervision and working hours. This situation for domestic workers is further intensified by the lack of trade unions. This deficiency has led to the workers having to make sure that their rights are being asserted on their own, without the support of a strong union.
The current regulations are both an expression and a consequence of the Swedish gender order. Paid work on the official labour market is the male norm, and the gender coding on the Swedish labour market means that the closer to the private household a profession gets, the more female it is perceived. This has the effect that the profession gets a low status on the labour market, and the workers are marginalised. The Domestic Work Act expresses the principle of separation: what is seen as male and female is separated on the labour market through special legislation. The law in itself also helps maintain the idea that domestic work has a lower status; by separating the domestic workers from the remaining workforce, an impression is created that leads to domestic work being valued less, and it keeps being difficult for the workers to assert their rights.}},
author = {{Persson, Hanna}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Barnflickor och tjänstehjon - en kritisk analys av hushållslagen}},
year = {{2013}},
}