A new good work agenda | An economic strategy for Britain
Channel: Resolution Foundation
Date: 10/01/2024

Good jobs must be centre-stage of a new economic strategy for Britain, building on the past successes of the minimum wage and addressing wider problems with low-paid work.

The introduction of the minimum wage has been a massive success story for the UK’s lowest earners, who have consistently seen the fastest pay rises over the past two decades without any detrimental impact on employment. But celebrating the success of the minimum wage must not blind us to the total lack of progress elsewhere. 

Job satisfaction for lower earners has fallen, with these workers four times as likely to experience volatility in their hours or pay compared to high earners. Low earners are also more likely to experience non-compliance with labour market laws, with the lowest earners six times more likely than the highest earners to receive no holiday pay. Alongside effectively enforcing workers’ rights, the government should go beyond national regulation by creating new labour market institutions to target issues specific to particular sectors, such as low pay in the social care sector, and insecure contracts in warehousing and cleaning.

Confronting these issues will ensure that improvements in both pay *and* conditions will disproportionately flow to lower earners, helping to both reduce inequality and boost economic growth.

Read our full proposals for a new good work agenda in our major new report Ending Stagnation here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/