Samantha Currie

Reflecting on Brexit: migration myths and what comes next for EU migrants in the UK?

Abstract This article considers the potential impact of Brexit on the family and welfare entitlement of EU migrants living in the UK and of UK migrants living in other EU Member States. Whilst the vast majority of those campaigning for the UK to leave the EU (publicly at least) argued in favour of those already present in the UK at the time of the referendum having their status protected, the government has been considerably less vocal in its support for this outcome. As such, EU migrants living in the UK presently face considerable uncertainty as to their own and their families’ future legal status and entitlement to welfare rights. The article will expose some of the evidential and legal gaps in the assertions made about EU migrants’ socio economic entitlement with a view to providing a more informed, legally accurate appraisal of how the Brexit negotiations could unfold.

Men on the sidelines: the reconciliation of work and family life agenda in the context of cross-border posting

The European Commission estimates that one million workers are posted in the EU each year. Such workers are sent abroad temporarily as part of a cross-border provision of services by their employer. The male-dominated construction sector accounts for a significant proportion (25%) of the posting that takes place in the EU. Taking the construction industry as an example, this paper examines the difficulties experienced by posted workers seeking to enforce employment related rights, for example as regards to pay and to maintain family connections across borders. This focused analysis serves as a case study for articulation of a broader argument relating to the inaccessibility of EU policies on reconciling work and family life to many male workers. In drawing out the dichotomy between the emphasis on policies to assist with the reconciliation of work and family life (usually directed at women), and the inability of the (predominantly male) workers under consideration to achieve any meaningful experience of family life during the posting experience, the paper aims to highlight how the EU reconciliation agenda continues to primarily target women as its ‘beneficiaries’. The antipathy of reconciliation law and policy towards men seriously undermines the effectiveness of the measures for both men and women alike.