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This article examines the different forms of uncertainty that workers in precarious jobs experience on a day‐to‐day basis. The article highlights the various ways in which uncertainty at work spills over into workers' lives away from the workplace and provides a representative and up‐to‐date comparison of the experiences of workers in permanent, fixed‐term and casual forms of employment. The article achieves its objectives through a mixed‐methods research design comprising an analysis of data from the Understanding Society survey and interviews with workers in the retail, higher education, logistics and social care sectors.

Purpose: Recent changes in the UK to the regulation and modes of work in the formal and informal economies are considered. Research in this field has tended to remain in silos (treating formal economy working conditions separately from research on the informal economy. The question is whether the means of work and benefits to the worker for formal and informal work are now as different as the former images of formal and informal economy work imply under a ‘jobs-for-life’ economy. This leads in to a consideration of whether the current aim of government regulation of the informal economy – to formalise it – is actually of benefit to workers, as might be supposed. Design/methodology/approach: The article considers recent research findings on the formal and informal economy, using official government statistics for the UK and more detailed European studies on the informal economy. Findings: The article argues that formal employment in the UK is becoming more casualised, with less associated benefits to employees. Though it is still of benefit to the state to formalise informal work (to increase tax take), some of the links between formalisation and a good working environment for workers are being broken, which may lead to the informal economy becoming more popular and require different priorities in regulation. Originality/value: The article argues that we need to change our assumptions and image of work in the formal economy, compared to that in the informal economy.

The transfer of plants to boron-free solutions induces rapid responses in membrane functions without necessarily affecting root growth and anatomy. In sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), root growth slows within 3-6 h. However in maize (Zea mays), no growth effects are apparent after more than 30 h without boron (-B). In both species early disturbances in ion uptake and cell wall deposition are seen. Ultrastructural studies on sunflower root tips after 5.5 h or 3 d -B are reported. Detailed studies on the absorption of Pj and K+ by root tips were complemented by studies on protoplasts isolated from the root tips of +B and -B plants. There were no significant differences in the protoplast yield or viability according to their B status. Ion absorption by protoplasts isolated from roots of +B and -B plants generally resembled that by intact roots of the corresponding B status. Altering the B status of the protoplasts was expected to initiate earlier responses than in the roots where cell wall binding and diffusion times buffer the system against change; but the greater variability inherent in measuring the protoplast responses prevented the detection of subtle changes. The activities of two+ membrane bound arjzymes were investigated; β-glucan synthetase and a K+-stimulated, Mg2+ -dependent ATPase. UDPG incorporation by protoplasts continued for over 18 h and was consistently higher in +B protoplasts and root membranes than -B. However SEM revealed no significant differences in fibre deposition around sunflower and maize protoplasts according to their boron status. (K++Mg2+)-ATPase from sunflower roots was found to be reversibly impaired by the loss of B; and preliminary investigations implied that restoration of activity when B was resupplied to the intact roots was correlated with the B content of the membrane fraction, as determined by the (n,α) method.

The aims of this report are to take stock of recent developments in labour administration and highlight some of the ways in which national governments have sought to improve the functioning of their national systems of labour administration. Over the past two decades, substantial changes have taken place in the organization of national labour administration systems and the principles according to which they are managed. Reforms have been initiated so as to support new labour, employment and social protection policies and enhance the effectiveness of service delivery in these areas. The reforms have also taken place as a consequence of attempts by national governments to improve performance, transparency and accountability within the public sector. The widespread tightening of public finances that followed the economic crisis that began in 2008 has provided added impetus to these efforts. Labour administration bodies in many countries have experienced reductions in their budgets and therefore their capacity. Austerity has been accompanied by an even greater emphasis on ‘efficiency savings’.\ud

This article examines the current drive within the European Union to weaken employment protection legislation. It subjects the case for reform to critical scrutiny and argues that labour market deregulation and the erosion of employment and social protections are reducing workers' security while failing to stimulate economic recovery.

This article examines the responses of national governments to the economic crisis that commenced in 2008. We argue that the current search for new bases for accumulation is leading to reforms designed to weaken the position of labour. Moreover, the tendency towards a weakening of labour's position was already evident across different ‘varieties of capitalism’ before the crisis erupted. We discuss the implications for comparative institutional analysis and stress the need for a renewed focus on the underlying dynamics of capitalist economies.