April Workertech Roundup

As the Easter break wraps up and we head into a busy spring, we’re back with a fresh round of insights from the world of work, tech, and impact.

This month, we’re taking a closer look at the challenges facing foreign-born workers in the UK, with new research from the Resolution Foundation and news reports from within care homes.

From the Foundation’s research team, we’re looking at what rising minimum wages and employer NICs mean for staffing and youth employment, a new blueprint for building a stronger industrial strategy, and a deep dive into how public services support low-income households and where there’s growing space for innovation to make a difference.

Until next month,
Aish Moothan
Ventures Manager

Spotlight: Foreign-born workers’ experience

New Resolution Foundation research highlights the stark realities faced by many foreign-born workers. Recent arrivals to the UK are twice as likely to be employed on flexible or insecure contracts, such as zero-hours, variable-hours, or temporary contracts, compared to their UK-born counterparts. Around 16% of foreign-born workers, whether recent arrivals or longer-term residents, are stuck in precarious work and either low-paid or living in households with below-average incomes. The full report is called Precarious Prospects and you can read it here.

This vulnerability isn’t isolated. It reflects broader trend of ‘race to the bottom’ practices emerging in sectors under strain, including social care. A recent BBC story captures these challenges, through the story of a Zimbabwean care worker whose employer forced her to work long hours without days off and threatened her visa status when she raised concerns. Abuse has become widespread enough that more than 470 care provider licenses have been revoked between July 2022 and December 2024, impacting over 39,000 workers.

While the government allocated £16m to help councils support affected care workers, progress has been slow. In Yorkshire and the Humber, for example, just 71 workers have been successfully matched with new sponsors since 2023.

Through our portfolio, we’ve invested in ventures like Mobilise and Equal Care Co-op, which are working to reset standards in the care sector.

Equal Care Co-op is a worker- and user-owned platform that challenges the traditional agency model by giving carers and those they support direct control over their working conditions and care arrangements. By embedding democratic governance, fair pay, and secure contracts at the heart of their model, they demonstrate that combining high-quality care with dignity and security for workers is possible. Companies like Equal Care Co-op offer a blueprint for a fairer, more sustainable care system.

Latest insights from the Resolution Foundation

Minimum Wage, Maximum Pressure

This report analysed the impact of the latest minimum wage and employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) increases. As of the 1st of April, the adult minimum wage rose by 6.7%, with even bigger increases for younger workers. At the same time, employer NICs rose, especially hitting low-paid jobs through a lower earnings threshold and higher rates.

Together, these changes are expected to reduce total employment by around 80,000 jobs. For startups and scaling companies, this could accelerate pressures to rethink staffing models, particularly for entry-level roles and youth hiring. It’s also an important moment to double down on transparent communication with younger workers, who will be most affected by changes to pay and deductions.

How to do Industrial Strategy

Resolution Foundation President David Willetts has published an essay setting out a blueprint for reviving the UK’s industrial strategy, aiming to unlock private investment and boost productivity. The paper outlines practical policy tools, from sector deals for high-potential services to planning reform to raise urban productivity.

At Your Service: Public service delivery and low-income households
New analysis shows that public services provide an average of £13,000 per English household in in-kind benefits each year. Low-income households rely even more heavily on these services, receiving around £15,900 compared to £10,400 for the richest fifth.

However, after years of cuts to ‘unprotected’ services like social care and policing, many of these services are now struggling to meet demand, increasingly leaning on private-sector providers to fill the gaps.

Incumbent private sector players have historically plugged these gaps, but impact investment-backed startups are increasingly playing a role. Our friends at Better Society Capital recently wrote about how social impact investment can improve the way public services are delivered here.

Get involved

ICYMI: Organise was featured in the Financial Times as part of a report on Uber drivers fighting against unfair AI dismissals on the app.

Our friends at Bethnal Green Ventures are launching a call for applications for their Autumn 2025 Tech for Good accelerator programme.
The six-week programme and £60,000 in investment is for early-stage founders building technology that can deliver positive impact at scale. Find out more and apply here.

Investment from Resolution Ventures 

Apply for direct investment from Resolution Ventures. We accept applications from WorkerTech ventures on a rolling basis. Or you can book a slot in our office hours for an initial conversation.