Insecure work can often be a trap, rather than a stepping stone to a better life, according to new research that tracked the employment of 10,000 people across four years.
As debate rages over Labour’s plans to improve workers’ rights, a study from the Work Foundation thinktank found that 44% of people in precarious work were in the same situation four years later, while another 9% had fallen out of work altogether.
That compared with 39% of those in insecure work who had progressed into a more secure job. Older workers, aged 45-54, were almost twice as likely to remain in insecure work throughout the four-year period than their younger counterparts, aged 16-24.
Ben Harrison, the director of the Work Foundation, said: “Often insecure work is seen as a stepping stone to better employment, but this evidence tells us many end up stuck in long-term insecure work.
“The very nature of insecure work makes it more difficult for individuals to transition to secure jobs. Juggling unpredictable pay and hours can make it hard to plan, upskill or find new opportunities.”
Separate research by the Work Foundation suggests that workers in insecure jobs earn on average £3,200 a year less than their counterparts in secure work – and that almost 7 million people were doing insecure work in 2023.
The new report suggests that long-term insecure work is especially prevalent in some sectors, including social care and retail, as well as outsourced services such as cleaning and security.
Workers without a secure job were almost three times more likely to have moved sectors over the four-year period in search of a better role, than those who started in secure employment (28%, compared with just under 10%).
The Work Foundation, which is based at Lancaster University, is calling on the government to press ahead with implementing its new deal for working people. Measures described in Labour’s policy pledge included banning fire and rehire and giving workers the right to “a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work”.
Labour has also said it will ensure employment rights, such as parental leave and protection from unfair dismissal, will apply from day one of a job – though this may be subject to a probation period.
Unions will also be given stronger rights to access and organise in workplaces, in the hope of improving low-paid workers’ bargaining power. Final details of the plans will be thrashed out between ministers in the coming weeks.
The deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who has worked closely with trade unions on the workers’ rights plans, promised to table an employment bill within 100 days of Labour coming to power in July.
Harrison said: “It is vital the government does not step back from delivering a new deal for working people in full,” adding: “Insecure work can negatively impact people’s physical and mental health, financial wellbeing and overall quality of life.”
Business groups have criticised some aspects of the proposals, however. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned last weekend that businesses might choose to recruit fewer staff as a result.
Reporting the results of a survey of employers, the CBI’s work and skills director, Matthew Percival, said many were concerned that it would become more difficult to lay off new staff who were not performing well.
“While the government has said that businesses can use probation periods, the possibility of decisions at the end of probation being challenged at employment tribunal has 75% of respondents saying they’d be more cautious about taking on new staff,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation has launched a “temp work works” campaign, hailing the benefits of flexible jobs for workers.
The Work Foundation researchers defined “insecure” work as meeting at least two of three conditions: “contractual insecurity” without guaranteed future hours or future work; “financial insecurity”, meaning low pay; and a lack of rights and protection.
They used data from a UK-wide survey called Understanding Society, to monitor the progression of workers over the period from 2017-18 to 2021-22.
Responding to the Work Foundation report, Rayner said: “Tackling insecure work and ending one-sided flexibility is at the very heart of our plan to make work pay, a promise to millions of working people who deserve security and predictability in their jobs.
“We are banning exploitative zero-hours contracts and giving workers a right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work, along with reasonable notice of any changes to shifts and compensation for lost pay.”
Labour has also asked the independent Low Pay Commission to take into account the cost of living when it recommends increases in the minimum wage – though with inflation expected to remain close to the government’s 2% target over the next year it is unclear how much difference that will make in the short term.
