Chapter One Background
In Britain, the 1990s witnessed a growth in academic interest in the part-time employment of young people who are still attending school (see for example Lavalette, 1994; Hobbs & McKechnie, 1997; Pettitt, 1998; Lavalette, 1999; Mizen, Pole & Bolton, 2001). The emergence of this research interest is in part attributable to international debates about 'child labour'. However, the research focus in Britain has centred around specific themes including: establishing the nature and extent of part-time employment, the relationship between part-time work and academic attainment, the effectiveness of legislation and policy, young people's perspectives on their work and health and safety issues.
It could be argued that what characterises all of this research is that it approaches the topic from the supply side perspective. By that we mean focusing on the experiences of the employees, the type of work they are involved in and their reasons for working. In other words researchers have been preoccupied with understanding the issue from the young worker's side. However, the fact that children and school pupils are willing to work or that their parents want them to get a job does not guarantee that they will become employed. There has to be a demand for their labour as well and that demand must come from employers.
Within this research area the employers' perspective or the demand side of the equation has been ignored. This lack of attention is not unique to the research base in Britain, it is common amongst all research in this area, and even at the international level the reasons why employers employ 'child labour' is largely unexplored.
In Britain a review of gaps in the research base on child employment drew attention to the need to understand why employers employ young school-based part-time workers (McKechnie & Hobbs, 2000). At the international level Anker (2001) has suggested that employers have been neglected because of the emphasis on poverty as the main factor driving the supply of young child workers. In Britain we would suggest that employers have been missing from the research agenda for different reasons.
First, research into children and school pupils' employment is in its infancy and has focused on the employee side of the employer-employee equation. Second, much of the early research was about the effectiveness of legislation protecting those under 16 years of age. It was apparent that this legislation was ineffective and as a result employers were in a legally grey area. It is possible that researchers assumed that in these circumstances employers would not engage with research. Third, 'common sense' assumptions existed about the employer's perspective. The main assumption is that employers employ school pupils to keep costs down and increase profits.
However, if we are to fully understand school pupils' employment we need to begin to explore the demand side. For example it could be argued that the demand for young employees will impact on the sectors that they are likely to work in, on their working conditions and on the rates of reward they receive for their labour.
At a practical level we need to develop some understanding of why employers recruit this particular group of employees. Do they set out to target this group and what employment practices do they adopt? What are their views on part-time employment and work experience? Do they have specific links with the school system? What do they think about the idea of recognising or accrediting school pupils' employment?
Accordingly, the present study focussed on four key areas:
1. The reasons for employing school pupils
2. Links with schools
3. The value of part-time work
4. Employment practices