Work Foundation

This research complements our analysis that shows the health risks of insecure work, with insecure workers 1.4 times more likely than those with secure jobs to become unemployed or economically inactive due to ill-health during the study period (5/5): www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

Image of a black woman taking a pill

The authors argue that pushing the long-term sick into ‘any’ job risks backfiring, as poor job design and lack of adaptations in frontline sectors are both a driver of and a barrier to tackling economic inactivity. (4/5)

Findings
> 2.5% of formerly long-term sick inactive workers move into work each year
> 56.6% of those inactive long-term sick workers who enter low-paid, physically tough jobs
> Half of inactive long-term sick workers who enter work, the work lasts for less than 4 months (3/5)

The jobs most available are physical roles - often with long hours, inflexible shifts and travel requirements.

The research highlighted broader workforce trends such as reduced autonomy (lower levels of control in how workers do their job), inequality of access to hybrid working, and low-quality work (insecure, long hours, stressful) in ‘frontline’ jobs. (2/5)

Front cover of Timewise report, Health by design? Why better jobs for all should be a goal for UK Industrial Policy.

🏆 Our #ResearchOfTheMonth goes to @timewise.bsky.social for their research paper 'Healthy By Design?' which shows that just 60,000 of the 2.4 million people economically inactive due to long-term ill health find a job each year. (1/5)

Read here: timewise.co.uk/article/why-...

Alice Martin, Head of Research, Work Foundation at Lancaster University Impact of motherhood on earnings “Today’s figures present the stark and unfair reality for working mothers in the UK. “New data shows that five years after their first child, women’s monthly earnings are down by 42% (£1,051 per month), with average losses across the five years amounting to £65,000. “Addressing the motherhood penalty requires bringing parental leave policies into the twenty first century, ensuring both mothers and fathers get ample paid time off when they become parents – we should properly accommodate parenthood alongside work, not in spite of it." Lancaster University logo Work Foundation logo

Comment from our Head of Research, @alicepmartin.bsky.social, on figures from the Office for National Statistics on the impact of motherhood on monthly employee earnings and employment status.

The full statement is available at: lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

Participants speaking at roundtable on young people's health and employment challenges at Labour Party Conference 2025.

Participants speaking at roundtable on young people's health and employment challenges at Labour Party Conference 2025.

Participants speaking at roundtable on young people's health and employment challenges at Labour Party Conference 2025.

And finally, we ended with a roundtable on ensuring that no young person is left behind as policy-makers aim to overcome youth health and employment challenges. A key theme was changing the culture of work for young people and ensuring they have access to secure work. (6/6)

Participants at Work Foundation at Lancaster University roundtable speaking about coastal communities and living standards.

Participants at Work Foundation at Lancaster University roundtable speaking about coastal communities and living standards.

Participants at Work Foundation at Lancaster University roundtable speaking about coastal communities and living standards.

On Thursday, we started with a roundtable on how the Government can raise living standards in coastal communities with Edge Hill University. Participants discussed building on the huge potential of coastal places and reframing the negative image of seaside areas. (5/6)

Participants speaking at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University roundtable on AI and SMEs

Participants speaking at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University roundtable on AI and SMEs

Participants speaking at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University roundtable on AI and SMEs

We then discussed how to accelerate AI adoption in SMEs with Prof James Faulconbridge & Prof Martin Spring from
Lancaster University Management School and Minister for Small Business, @blairmcdougall.com. A key takeaway was investing in new tech requires businesses to ask the right questions. (4/6)

Image of participants discussing Right to Try at the Labour Party Conference.

Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Disability, discussing at roundtable

Image of participants discussing Right to Try at the Labour Party Conference.

Then we hosted a roundtable on closing the disability employment gap with Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Disability. We discussed how connecting disabled people to good quality employment is key - including access to job features such as remote/hybrid work. (3/6)

Image of Kate Dearden MP speaking

Image of participants at roundtable on maximising the opportunities for the Employment Rights Bill

On Monday, we hosted a roundtable on maximising the impact of the Employment Rights Bill with the Minister for Employment Rights, @katedeardenmp.bsky.social. We discussed the importance of delivering the core purpose and reforms in the Bill and working with employers to mitigate key concerns. (2/6)

Photo of a Work Foundation and Lancaster University banner

We have been at #LabourPartyConference #Lab25 hosting roundtables with Lancaster Uni and chaired by @benrharrison.bsky.social discussing the Employment Rights Bill, disability employment gap, AI and SMEs, living standards in coastal communities and youth employment.

Here are some highlights: (1/6)

How to do a jobs guarantee well - Lancaster University At first glance, the Government's announcement on a new Youth Guarantee looks like a positive move – but how it is designed and delivered will make all the difference. Alice Martin explores what…

READ: The Government has made headlines for guaranteeing paid work for young people who have been unemployed for 18 months.

But job guarantees are not new and @alicepmartin.bsky.social argues how it is designed and delivered will make all the difference.

www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

Recommendations 1. Ensure the potential of the Employment Rights Bill is maximised and safeguard the core purpose of the reforms in primary and secondary legislation 2. Allow for a smooth transition for employers and workers as the Employment Rights is implemented 3. Guarantee the Employment Rights Bill is appropriately enforced and its impact is monitored.

These findings highlight that the Employment Rights Bill has the potential to significantly improve access to secure work in the UK. To fully realise its benefits, we recommend that the Government must: (7/7)

Change in levels of insecure work if ERB rules had been in place in 2023, by sector

Sectors where severely insecure work is prevalent are likely to see large falls in insecure work too. We estimate that in 2023, the severe insecure work rate in retail would have fallen from 45.3% to 38.9% while in social care it would have dropped from 32.5% to 20.5%. (6/7)

Estimated reduction in severely insecure work in 2023 had key changes from the Employment Rights Bill been in place at the time

These reforms could particularly benefit disadvantaged worker groups. Had the two reforms been in place in 2023, severely insecure work would have been reduced by 8.3 percentage points for workers aged 16-24. And 4.6 & 4.5 pp for Black & Asian workers respectively. (5/7)

Estimated reduction in insecurity in 2023 had major changes from the Employment Rights Bill been place at the time Current rules: Secure - 44.1% / New ERB rules 56.7% Current rules: Low/moderate insecurity - 34.6% / New ERB Rules 25.6% Current rules: Severe insecurity - 21.4% / New ERB rules 17.7%

The analysis estimates that the proportion of the UK workforce in secure jobs would have risen by 12.6 percentage points, from 44.1% to 56.7% which is equivalent to approximately 3.85 million more workers in secure employment. (4/7)

Change in levels of job security in 2023 under new proposed day one rights with different probationary periods.

The impact of day one dismissal rights depends on the length of statutory probation period adopted. If a six-month probation period was implemented, estimates suggest the number of people in severely insecure work would fall by 1.2 million - from 6.8 million (21.4%) to 5.6 million (17.7%). (3/7)

The research investigates what would have happened to levels of job security if the key reforms – the introduction of day one unfair dismissal rights and the end to exploitative zero-hour contracts – were in place in 2023. (2/7)

Front cover of Work Foundation report: Increasing job security: The potential impact of employment rights reforms in the UK Rebecca Florisson September 2025

Today, we release a new study analysing the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill which indicates that millions of workers could benefit from better job security, but only if the Government stands firm and delivers on its promise of key reforms. (1/7)

www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

“As the potential for tax rises looms at the upcoming Autumn Budget, Government must ensure it does not increase the pressure on lower income workers who have borne the brunt of this squeeze in recent years.” (7/7)

"Only half of workers (48%) believe wage increases are keeping up with the cost of living and just 43% expect an above inflation pay rise in the next 12 months. (6/7)

“The combination of stagnant living standards and sticky inflation means that people are still likely to feel pessimistic about their household finances one year into the new Parliament. (5/7)

"which is the first time it has dipped below 5% for three years since June 2022. Worryingly, this period of consistent pay growth has not fed through to real wages. Workers remain only £24 better off since the start of the Financial Crisis in August 2008. (4/7)

"with 2.3 jobseekers per vacancy. And the risk remains that unemployment rises further in the months ahead.

“The cooling labour market has also impacted wage growth. Nominal wage growth slowed to 4.8%... (3/7)

“Unemployment continues to creep up. It is now at the high level in just under four years at 4.7%, and up 194,000 on the year. Concerningly for Ministers seeking to create additional pathways to work, there are now more people looking for fewer available jobs... (2/7)

Comment from our Director @benrharrison.bsky.social on the latest release from the ONS⬇️
“Today’s figures highlight the challenge the Government faces in turning the economy around as the labour market continues to show signs of cooling. (1/7)
www.ons.gov.uk/employmentan...

Insecure work 85. Insecure work involves a mix of low pay, unpredictable hours, poor protections and limited career progression, and does not offer the security people need to thrive.121 The Work Foundation, Lancaster University, reported that 55% of workers on Universal Credit are in severely insecure work, meaning that these workers require additional financial support through Universal Credit because their job does not provide them with the ability to get by. It argued that pushing people to take any job increased the likelihood of them taking up jobs that were: insecure by their very nature; short-term; and required people to use Universal Credit to supplement their income.122 Qualitative research by Dr Katy Jones, Head, Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, found that strict requirements to take any job pressurises people into taking low-paid insecure work that is difficult to manage and progress from.123 86. We also received evidence t

95. We received several suggestions for how DWP could incorporate the good work agenda into Jobcentres, apart from removing the ‘any job’ approach: The Work Foundation, Lancaster University, suggested that work-related benefit conditions could incorporate a focus on good jobs. It said that DWP should introduce a standardised framework of job quality for Jobcentres so that conditionality is not applied to jobs that are by their nature insecure.135

The Work Foundation welcomes the Committee’s inquiry into ‘Get Britain Working: Reforming Jobcentres’. We were particularly pleased to see the Committee’s report focus on job quality and the importance of supporting jobseekers into ‘good work’. (2/2)

Image of JobCentre Plus sign

Today, the Work & Pensions Select Committee released a new report calling on the Department for Work & Pensions to reform the Jobcentre conditionality regime, including sanctions, placed on jobseekers and people in work on Universal Credit. (1/2)

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm...

Bangladeshi and Pakistani Women in Good Work: Barriers to Entry and Progression - NIESR This participatory research project explores the career aspirations of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in London, the barriers they face in and out of the workplace to pursue and advance in good…

Others cited cultural and religious norms within their communities that made it difficult to balance their careers aspirations with their caring responsibilities at home. This was particularly challenging for older women. (6/6): niesr.ac.uk/projects/ban...