Part-time work in Danish private services: a (mis)match between wage flexibility and living hours

This chapter explores how the institutional framework for working time and wage regulation affects the prevalence of marginal part-time employment (less than 15 working hours per week) and its implications for men and women’s hourly earnings within retail, industrial cleaning, hotels and restaurants.

Analytically, we draw on the concept of living hours and find that the combined effects of wage and working time regulation influence the take-up of contracts of few hours and the workforce composition. We argue that the institutional framework of collective agreements, in some instances, facilitates a win-win situation for employers and employees alike and narrows the gender pay gap. In other instances, the very same agreements seemingly promote dualisation, especially for young people and migrants in terms of wage penalties and contracts of few hours, indicating the dual nature of the institutional framework.

Read the full chapter 'Part-time work in Danish private services: a (mis)match between wage flexibility and living hours' by Trine P. Larsen, Anna Ilsøe and Jonas Felbo-Kolding from the book 'Dualisation of part-time work - The Development of Labour Market Insiders and Outsiders'.