20182024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Research interests

I am a member of the HRM group within the Management part of the Edinburgh Business School, at Heriot-Watt University, as well as a member of the Centre for Employment, Work and the Professions (CREWs). I completed my PhD at University of Strathclyde where I was involved in the ITN Marie Curie "Changing Employment" project as an Early Career Reseacher. I am a long-term Academic Member of the CIPD, a Fellow of the HE Academy, and member of the British Sociology Association.

My teaching role involves co-ordination of courses on Employment Relations (hons level), and Employment Trends (PGT MSc).

My research examines the workplace as a contested site of power relations that include conformity, consent and resistance. I am particularly interested how new managerial practices, such as algorithmic management and supply chain management, influence power relations within the workplace shaping workers' agency and quality of work life. My research aims at understanding connections between the macro level dynamics and the meso and micro level (workplace) experiences.

More recently, I am exploring the interplay among institutions, platform companies, and migration/border regimes.  The contemporary landscape of work and employment is undergoing a profound transformation, largely influenced by the rise of platform capitalism. My research seeks to examine and intersect the multifaceted relationships between institutional frameworks, technologically driven platform companies (capital), and the evolving dynamics of migration and border regulations. By clooking at the nexus between these elements, I aim to contribute to a nuanced understanding of the socio-economic forces shaping the contemporary world of work. One of the focal points of my research lies in the exploration of how platform capitalism and the gig economy navigate and influence migration patterns within European contexts. The United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal serve as crucial case studies in this exploration, offering diverse perspectives on the intersections of economic forces, labor markets, and migration policies.

My current and recent projects include:

  • Digital Fair Employment Scotland – Evaluating Fair Work in the digital platform economy in Scotland (RSE Small Research Grants scheme - £5k).
  • Informal business and employment practices in platform work in the UK, Spain and Portugal.

Recent publications

My most recent publications involve informal work and employment practices, worker voice, trade union activity in supply chains.

Informalization in gig food delivery in the UK: The case of hyper-flexible and precarious work Industrial Relations: a journal of economy and society.

Disconnecting labour: The impact of intraplatform algorithmic changes on the labour process and workers' capacity to organise collectively New Technology, Work and Employment.

The intensification of work in Europe: A multilevel analysis British Journal of Industrial Relations.

Breaking the managerial silencing of worker voice in platform capitalism: The rise of a Food Courier Network British Journal of Management.

Trade Union Power Resources within the Supply Chain: Marketisation, Marginalisation, Mobilisation Work, Employment and Society.

Trade union responses to precarious employment: the role of power resources in defending precarious flight attendants in Ryanair Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research

Roles & Responsibilities

I am a researcher in the Centre for Research Into Employment, Work and the Professions (Launch August 2020).

I am part of the Migration Cross-party group in The Scottish Parliament, where we seek to provide a forum for stakeholders, policy-makers and those with lived experience to discuss any arising issues relating to migrants, refugees and those seeking asylum.

I am part of the Editorial Board of Work, Employment and Society (ABS4) and contribute as external reviewer to a number of other world-class journals. 

Key Research Words/Phrases

Platfrom work, gig economy, gig work, migrant labour, informal work, industrial relations, supply chain

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 1 - No Poverty
  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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