While unemployment in the UK has been historically low in recent years, large parts of our economy are characterised by insecure work. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis have impacted working life in the UK, accelerating existing trends and producing short and potentially long-term challenges for people in precarious jobs.
Insecure work is not inherently good or bad. However, some of forms of insecurity – particularly when occurring in combination with others – can contribute to higher risk of job loss, lower financial wellbeing and more limited access to important employment rights.
Our UK Insecure Work Index 2022 estimated that 6.2 million people in the UK (20% of the workforce) are in severely insecure work and face the greatest risk of facing these negative long-term effects.
Our analysis shows that structural inequality in the labour market means women, young people, ethnic minority workers and disabled workers are disproportionately likely to be in an insecure job. We’re concerned that some workers are feeling a need to compromise job security to get work that offers the flexibility they need.
Our Insecure Work strand aims to deliver new evidence and ideas to help organisations, policymakers and workers:
New research explores the constraints and choices people face when they decide to engage in insecure work. Many of those in insecure work find themselves having to trade security for flexibility to balance work around other factors in their lives.
New analysis of UK labour market data reveals disabled workers are 1.5 times more likely than non-disabled workers to be in severely insecure work. Some groups are particularly disadvantaged, including autistic workers, female disabled workers, and those with mental health conditions.
New analysis from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University reveals that Government plans to rush the ‘sunsetting’ of EU laws by the end of 2023 will put the rights and protections of more than 8.6 million UK workers at risk.
New analysis of UK labour market data has identified a gender insecurity gap, with working women nearly twice as likely as working men to be in severely insecure work – and the situation worsens for mothers, disabled women and women from specific ethnic minority backgrounds.
Many people who receive Universal Credit (UC) face conditionality requirements which can impact on their ability to take part in training activity. Through qualitative interviews, this research explored how the training aspirations of people on UC are influenced by the conditionality requirements they are required to meet.
New in-depth analysis of UK job market data reveals women, disabled people, ethnic minorities and young workers have been consistently affected by insecure employment over the last twenty years.
A new direction to tackle insecurity in retail following COVID-19.
The role of skills in tackling job insecurity through Brexit and Covid-19
Millions of people on UC are facing barriers to accessing training. What should the Government do to widen access for this changing group?
COVID-19 and worker insecurity in 2020 and beyond.
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