Analysis and action on living standards
How high are tax rates on personal incomes and how do these compare historically and internationally? This Spotlight explores the context of current levels and methods of income taxation in particular.
The Government’s Employment Rights Bill is important and welcome, but it should change tack on unfair dismissal. Reform here is definitely needed. Currently, protection kicks in only when someone has been in the job for two years. Our view is that the Government retain a qualifying period, but reduce it from the current two years to either three months or six months. This strikes the right balance in the protection-flexibility trade-off, conforming both with international norms and with how employers themselves operate.
The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank dedicated to lifting living standards in the UK. We focus particularly on households with low and middle incomes; those on low pay or in precarious work; and those vulnerable to financial shocks.
In 2012, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) levels were linked to the 30th percentile of local rents and automatically revised to reflect market changes. However, since the systematic link with market rents was broken 13 years ago, the Government has frozen LHA rates eight times, and repegged to the market level just twice (in 2020 and 2024).
Nearly one million young people aged 16-24 in the UK are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) – the highest level in over a decade. What is driving this increase and how can we support young people into work or study?
The Resolution Foundation calculates the real Living Wage – a voluntary hourly pay rate that is based on what families need to get by. The current national rate is:
Explore our interactive housing indicators or read about our alternative estimate of UK employment.
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Resolution Ventures exists to back innovative start-ups seeking to change the world of work for the better, and early-stage ventures seeking to improve the prospects of low-to-middle income Britain.
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