This report from UK think tank EDSK explores why the ‘ladder of opportunity’ is brokenfor so many young people and how to fix it The academic pathway from school up to university is a well-trodden and well-understood route. In contrast, for those young people who do not attend university, the first rungs on the ‘ladder...

This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation takes a deep dive into insecure work and employment. New analysis that builds on research presented in our recent ‘Delivering Levelling Up? How secure work can reduce regional inequality’ report and takes a deep dive into insecure work and employment in nine Mayoral Combined Authorities, Greater...

This report from UK think tank IPPR argues that there is an urgency for policymakers to implement a green industrial strategy. With Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPs and Science Act and the EU’s Green Industrial Plan, industrial policy is back in vogue. Yet after years of neglect in favour of hands-off, agnostic policymaking, governments...

This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation looks at the critical role that good management practices can play in mitigating job insecurity. Insecure workers who feel they are treated well at work are 7.5 times more likely to be satisfied with their job. This research, employing a mix-method approach, examines the critical role...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation digs deeper into the characteristics of ‘scale-ups’ and their significant contribution to the British economy. Building on the findings of a previous SMF report (Full Scale, published in September 2023) investigating the barriers to the expansion of ‘scale-ups’, this briefing digs deeper into the characteristics...

This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society looks at what the UK can learn from Germany about work-life balance. Poor work-life balance is bad for our health, bad for the economy and steals time we could spend with loved ones. Yet it is endemic in the UK: nearly half of the workforce said...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation explores the economic and environmental benefits of making the UK’s heat pump supply chain more robust. The UK’s heat pump supply chain is still in its infancy and remains much weaker than in mainland Europe or Asia. This SMF report explores the economic and environmental...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how the government can keep workers in the NHS, schools and police. Public services are responsible for keeping the public safe, healthy and well educated. This relies on the work of millions of people across the country. But that workforce is not a...

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at how we can build a strategic, ambitious and collaborative response to improve our social security system. Our safety net is failing to protect people from being pulled into poverty. Universal credit is simply inadequate to meet day to day living costs. This means despite temporary cost...

This report by UK think tank IPPR looks at how the UK can learn from the successes and failures of fair transition policies in the US and EU. Countries around the world are starting to build just transition principles into state-led green industrial strategies. Advanced economies, including the US and the EU’s member states, are...

This report from UK think tank Localis looks at the value of pubs to society and to the economy. Across Britain, pubs have long stood as familiar and welcoming landmarks. Their significance goes beyond mere watering holes; they have consistently played a pivotal role in knitting communities together and promoting social cohesion. Inn-valuable looks at...

This report by UK think tank the Living Wage Foundation discusses the findings of their fourth 'Life on Low Pay survey. Costs remain high even as inflation begins to ease, leaving many low paid workers facing ongoing financial hardship. While workers across the income distribution are feeling the squeeze, the situation is particularly challenging for...

This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation looks at how secure work can reduce regional inequality. This new report reveals the regions with the highest and lowest levels of ‘severely insecure’ work (employment that is involuntarily temporary or part-time, or when multiple forms of insecurity come together, such as casual or zero-hours contracts,...

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at how to work towards a new public employment service. The UK’s employment support system is characterised by three core flaws. It is failing to meet the needs of our current or future economy. Extrinsic motivation is crowding out personal ambitions. Provision is too narrow and focussed...

This report from UK think tank Resolution Foundation looks at the employment rates of particular groups during the pandemic and the financial crisis. The UK has seen more strikes in the past year than in any since the 1980s. These strikes have been concentrated in the public and transport sectors, where unionisation rates are highest....

Government must do more to tackle insecure work in the UK By Rebecca Florisson (The Work Foundation) The recent Queen’s speech indicated that the much-anticipated Employment Bill has again been delayed. This Bill could have played an important role in addressing severely insecure work. Proposals to improve job quality and security as set out in...

The coronavirus crisis means we are facing huge changes and disruption in the labour market but what are these likely to be and who will be most affected by them? Covid-19 has accelerated change for workers already facing disruption By Josh Abey (Fabian Society) Covid-19 has pulled the rug from underneath millions of workers and...