The flaws of the UK labour market won’t solve themselves
a post by Gavin Kelly for the Resolution Foundation blog
The UK labour market is lauded for reaching record levels of employment at the same time as it is lacerated for the insecurities that are said to be its central feature.
Two things can, however, be true at once: an economy can be job-rich at the same time as too many of its workers are wage-poor and insecure. The fact that these problems persist in a tight labour market at the mature phase of the economic cycle suggests the shortcomings of the UK model won’t solve themselves.
When minds turn to improving aspects of Britain’s labour market, the temptation is always to cherry-pick desirable features from other systems — Danish “flexicurity” [link to the Financial Times behind a firewall], German training or Japanese management. Seasoned observers, however, express scepticism. Anglo-Saxon capitalism [another one form the Financial Times], it’s argued, is just different. The virtues of other models can’t just be bolted on.
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Showing posts with label insecure_work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insecure_work. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 November 2019
Tuesday, 22 October 2019
What Is the Gig Economy, and Why Is It So Controversial?
a post by Andrew Heinzman for How-To Geek
Artur Szczbylo/Shutterstock
The “gig economy” is a buzzword on the news and in everyday conversation. It refers to the rise in contracted work—or “gigs”—that aren’t traditional jobs. Ridesharing, food delivery, dog walker, and writers are part of this economy.
An Economy of Contracted or Independent Work
The “gig economy” is a phenomenon defined by a rise in independent or contracted work. According to a Marist poll, one-fifth of American jobs are contracted right now, and half of the US workforce could find themselves doing contract or freelance work over the next decade.
But what is an independent contractor? Think of construction, web design, freelance writing, or Uber driving. Workers in these fields aren’t legally defined as “employees.” Instead, they work under contracts or operate their own business as an independent worker.
[Depending on where you live. This post specifically refers to the USA but some of the comments will apply equally in the UK.)
To some people, the rise in contracted work comes as no surprise. We’ve spent the last decade recovering from a recession, so our workforce is bigger than it was a decade ago. And of course, there’s the internet. The internet’s made it super easy to hunt down contracted work (especially short-term work), and the rise of internet content, like YouTube videos (or the article you’re reading right now), has created a demand for writers, creatives, web designers, and programmers.
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Artur Szczbylo/Shutterstock
The “gig economy” is a buzzword on the news and in everyday conversation. It refers to the rise in contracted work—or “gigs”—that aren’t traditional jobs. Ridesharing, food delivery, dog walker, and writers are part of this economy.
An Economy of Contracted or Independent Work
The “gig economy” is a phenomenon defined by a rise in independent or contracted work. According to a Marist poll, one-fifth of American jobs are contracted right now, and half of the US workforce could find themselves doing contract or freelance work over the next decade.
But what is an independent contractor? Think of construction, web design, freelance writing, or Uber driving. Workers in these fields aren’t legally defined as “employees.” Instead, they work under contracts or operate their own business as an independent worker.
[Depending on where you live. This post specifically refers to the USA but some of the comments will apply equally in the UK.)
To some people, the rise in contracted work comes as no surprise. We’ve spent the last decade recovering from a recession, so our workforce is bigger than it was a decade ago. And of course, there’s the internet. The internet’s made it super easy to hunt down contracted work (especially short-term work), and the rise of internet content, like YouTube videos (or the article you’re reading right now), has created a demand for writers, creatives, web designers, and programmers.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 5 December 2017
The stress of low-paid work is making our country sick
an article by Dawn Foster published in the Guardian
In modern Britain’s zero-hours labour market, unemployment is sometimes a healthier option than taking a job
‘The decline of industry and casualisation of the workforce has led to a boom in jobs that are high stress, low paid and now, it seems, actively harmful.’ Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
On Tuesday Heather left her desk, locked herself into a toilet cubicle and wept for 30 minutes, covering her mouth with a fistful of toilet paper to avoid being heard by her colleagues. For the last year, the 26-year-old has been having nightmares about her workplace, and has been signed off with depression on and off for the past four months. The Glasgow customer service call centre she works in has a high turnover of staff, who are often signed off with anxiety and depression, and the constant management warnings about being laid off if calls aren’t dealt with in strict timeframes are massively stressful for staff on zero-hours contracts with barely any employment rights.
Heather’s experience isn’t unusual. Researchers from Manchester University this month released research showing poor-quality jobs are actually worse for mental health than unemployment. Adults who transitioned from unemployment into low-paid work had elevated risks for a number of health issues, especially chronic stress.
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In modern Britain’s zero-hours labour market, unemployment is sometimes a healthier option than taking a job
‘The decline of industry and casualisation of the workforce has led to a boom in jobs that are high stress, low paid and now, it seems, actively harmful.’ Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
On Tuesday Heather left her desk, locked herself into a toilet cubicle and wept for 30 minutes, covering her mouth with a fistful of toilet paper to avoid being heard by her colleagues. For the last year, the 26-year-old has been having nightmares about her workplace, and has been signed off with depression on and off for the past four months. The Glasgow customer service call centre she works in has a high turnover of staff, who are often signed off with anxiety and depression, and the constant management warnings about being laid off if calls aren’t dealt with in strict timeframes are massively stressful for staff on zero-hours contracts with barely any employment rights.
Heather’s experience isn’t unusual. Researchers from Manchester University this month released research showing poor-quality jobs are actually worse for mental health than unemployment. Adults who transitioned from unemployment into low-paid work had elevated risks for a number of health issues, especially chronic stress.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Turning up to be sent home without pay: life in insecure work
by Alex Collinson in Working Life (Touchstone blog from the TUC)
Imagine turning up to work only to be sent home without pay. It would be frustrating, wouldn’t it?
It would be more frustrating still if you had already paid for childcare that day; or if you’d cancelled other plans so you could work; or if not receiving that day’s pay would make it difficult to make ends meet that week.
For millions of people working in insecure jobs, this is what they face every day.
In a recent survey, the TUC heard from hundreds of people about their experiences of insecure work. Over the next four days, we’ll look at four themes that emerged in the responses:
Imagine turning up to work only to be sent home without pay. It would be frustrating, wouldn’t it?
It would be more frustrating still if you had already paid for childcare that day; or if you’d cancelled other plans so you could work; or if not receiving that day’s pay would make it difficult to make ends meet that week.
For millions of people working in insecure jobs, this is what they face every day.
In a recent survey, the TUC heard from hundreds of people about their experiences of insecure work. Over the next four days, we’ll look at four themes that emerged in the responses:
- Unpredictable hours
- Fluctuating pay leading to financial difficulties
- Fear of turning down shifts
- Sick pay and holiday entitlements
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
How the tax system is driving people into insecure work in unexpected ways
A guest blog in Touchstone by Meredith McCammond
I work for the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, a group of tax and welfare rights specialists with expertise in the tax and related welfare issues of the low-paid. Often, people contact us describing their problems with tax, National Insurance, tax credits and interactions with other means-tested benefits. A good number of the problems have arisen in the context of non-standard ‘flexible’ forms of employment such as agency work, zero-hours contracts and self-employment.
What we are seeing in our work supports other evidence and research (including the TUC’s) showing that the numbers of people in such forms of employment are rising. While much intellectual debate to date has revolved around how National Insurance contributions reform might help reverse this trend, correspondence we receive into our mailbox from workers exposes that, in practice, there are wider aspects of the system driving workers into these precarious forms of employment.
We wanted to share this insight to help inform the debate and because, in our experience, reforms which tackle only part of the problem are rarely effective in the long term.
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I work for the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, a group of tax and welfare rights specialists with expertise in the tax and related welfare issues of the low-paid. Often, people contact us describing their problems with tax, National Insurance, tax credits and interactions with other means-tested benefits. A good number of the problems have arisen in the context of non-standard ‘flexible’ forms of employment such as agency work, zero-hours contracts and self-employment.
What we are seeing in our work supports other evidence and research (including the TUC’s) showing that the numbers of people in such forms of employment are rising. While much intellectual debate to date has revolved around how National Insurance contributions reform might help reverse this trend, correspondence we receive into our mailbox from workers exposes that, in practice, there are wider aspects of the system driving workers into these precarious forms of employment.
We wanted to share this insight to help inform the debate and because, in our experience, reforms which tackle only part of the problem are rarely effective in the long term.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 6 June 2017
Nearly 10 million Britons are in insecure work, says union
via the Guardian by Sarah Butler
Up to 10 million Britons or nearly a third of the UK workforce do not have secure employment, according to the GMB union, which has warned of a heavy impact on health and family life.
The union’s research, unveiled at its 100th annual congress in Plymouth on Monday, attempts to quantify people in what it calls precarious employment – those in the gig economy, on zero- or short-hours contracts, temporary workers, the underemployed and those at risk of false self-employment.
The data, based on a survey of nearly 3,500 people of working age, emerged before the publication this month of recommendations from Matthew Taylor, a former adviser to Tony Blair [and current chief executive of the RSA] who was appointed by the current prime minister to lead a review into the gig economy. He is expected to recommend changes to the rights of self-employed workers.
Continue reading
Up to 10 million Britons or nearly a third of the UK workforce do not have secure employment, according to the GMB union, which has warned of a heavy impact on health and family life.
The union’s research, unveiled at its 100th annual congress in Plymouth on Monday, attempts to quantify people in what it calls precarious employment – those in the gig economy, on zero- or short-hours contracts, temporary workers, the underemployed and those at risk of false self-employment.
The data, based on a survey of nearly 3,500 people of working age, emerged before the publication this month of recommendations from Matthew Taylor, a former adviser to Tony Blair [and current chief executive of the RSA] who was appointed by the current prime minister to lead a review into the gig economy. He is expected to recommend changes to the rights of self-employed workers.
Continue reading
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