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Gender, Work and Social Control pp 33–52Cite as

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Only Those Unconscious or Asleep: Definitions of Incapacity for Work

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Abstract

This chapter looks at the legal and practical definition of incapacity for work across the twentieth century, showing how social structures have affected ideas about incapacity for work. Tracking key changes in the statutory definition of incapacity, the chapter discusses the shifting boundaries between “sickness” and “disability”, illustrated by case law, examples from appeal cases and material in policy makers’ records. The chapter considers the ways in which a six-month guideline has been used to differentiate short-term sickness from longer term “disability” in the benefit schemes. For most of the time, the definition of incapacity for work remained fairly open, leaving front-line decision makers and legal adjudicators to interpret its meaning, until major changes in the 1990s introduced points-based medical tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edinburgh, UK

    Jackie Gulland

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  1. Jackie Gulland
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Correspondence to Jackie Gulland .

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Gulland, J. (2019). Only Those Unconscious or Asleep: Definitions of Incapacity for Work. In: Gender, Work and Social Control. Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60564-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60564-1_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-60562-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-60564-1

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

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