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Brexit and the Work–Family Conflict: A Scottish Perspective

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Gender and Queer Perspectives on Brexit

Part of the book series: Gender and Politics ((GAP))

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Abstract

This paper examines the Scottish Government’s desire to maintain ties with EU law post-Brexit in the context of employment and equality law, particularly those laws which impact on work-family conflict. The paper critically examines whether there is, or could be, a distinctly Scottish perspective in the context of work-family rights post-Brexit. The paper frames the analysis by considering the potentially gendered implications of Brexit in this context. In doing so, it examines this issue from the perspective of traditional heterosexual dual-partnered working family models. It is argued that rights for working fathers will be most vulnerable post-Brexit, with related consequences for working mothers. Consequently, the implications of Brexit in this context are primarily viewed through the lens of working fathers. The paper then critically examines the Scottish Government’s position on EU employment and equality law in the post-Brexit context.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The term work-family draws from Fineman’s (1995) understanding of family care and is used to denote the tension between paid work and family care responsibilities, which can extend beyond the mother-child relationship to encompass other relationships of care (Weldon-Johns 2011). Despite its broader application in general, this paper focuses on traditional parent-child relationships.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dundee Business School, Abertay University, Dundee, UK

    Michelle Weldon-Johns

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  1. Michelle Weldon-Johns
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Correspondence to Michelle Weldon-Johns .

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  1. School of Law, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

    Moira Dustin

  2. School of Law, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

    Nuno Ferreira

  3. School of Law, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

    Susan Millns

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Weldon-Johns, M. (2019). Brexit and the Work–Family Conflict: A Scottish Perspective. In: Dustin, M., Ferreira, N., Millns, S. (eds) Gender and Queer Perspectives on Brexit. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03122-0_12

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