The Government’s Make Work Pay agenda was one of its signature pitches at the start of this Parliament. But while the Employment Rights Bill reached Westminster in rapid time – within 100 days of office – implementation will be a bigger challenge, with important decisions still to be taken about how the reforms will work in practice. These decisions will be made amid big disagreements between unions and employers about how to deliver the reforms, and amid debates about the possible effects on the economy.

Over one-in-ten workers across Britain is employed on some form of precarious contract. The problems with such working arrangements for some workers are well known: they have limited control over their working patterns and insecure incomes too. But why firms use, or even come to rely on them, is rarely discussed and poorly understand. We … Continued

Debates about raising, or indeed cutting, legal protections for workers are a staple of British politics – with welcome progress including a rising minimum wage driving down low pay. But too often the reality that these rights, rates and rules mean little if they aren’t enforced is forgotten. The systems used to enforce workers’ rights … Continued

Social care is a large and important part of the UK economy, and will be a growing one with an ageing population and rising ill-health. But it is often also a lower paid one, with funding challenges, staff shortages and a history of risks around minimum wage underpayment. Workers wrestle with these challenges, alongside the … Continued