One-in-six foreign-born workers experience precarious work

The UK’s 6.8 million foreign-born workers are more likely to experience precarious work than British-born staff – with one-in-six working in some form of atypical employment – leaving them more vulnerable to exploitation than their British-born counterparts, according to new research published by the Resolution Foundation today (Monday).

The analysis reveals that among foreign-born workers without UK citizenship, around one-in-six (460,000 total), are in some form of precarious work including flexible or temporary contracts, gig economy employment, or self-employment. Around one-in-ten (11 per cent) UK-born workers are in precarity.

Their increased precarity is not explained by age, sex or qualification level. Indeed, the fact that foreign-born workers are usually more highly qualified than those born in the UK, should make them less, not more, likely to be in precarious work.

The likelihood of precarious work drops for foreign-born workers the longer they stay in the UK, but never fully converges with that of UK-born workers. Those who arrived less than five years ago are 2.4 times as likely to be in precarious work, dropping to 1.5 times after five years, and only 1.2 times for foreign-born UK citizens.

More than one-in-ten recently arrived foreign-born (12 per cent, 122,000 total) are on contracts with variable hours (and therefore pay) set by their employers, compared to 7 per cent of UK-born workers. Recently arrived foreign-born employees are also twice as likely to be employed on a zero-hours contracts (ZHCs) than a UK-born employee (4 per cent vs. 2 per cent).

The analysis reveals how experiences of precarity for some foreign-born workers are shaped by their sector. Many of the sectors with the most precarious working arrangements – such as hospitality, administration and agriculture – also have the highest proportion of foreign-born workers.

Ethnicity also plays a role. The report finds that precarious work is more prevalent for non-white ethnic groups, affecting over a quarter (26 per cent) of Pakistani foreign-born workers compared with only 12 per cent of White foreign-born workers. Overall, the report shows that among foreign-born workers, recent arrivals; non-UK citizens; and ethnic minorities are most at risk of experiencing precarious work.

The Foundation notes that clearly defined and consistently enforced employment rights will benefit all workers regardless of where they were born. However, failing to protect existing rights will disproportionately affect foreign-born workers, and risks creating a two-tier workforce – driving down standards across the entire labour market and allowing rogue employers to profit in a ‘race to the bottom’.

Workers who lack recourse to public funds or have a work visa tied to their employer are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, says the author.

The Government’s Employment Rights Bill should offer vital protections to workers. But further steps could be taken now, building on the Bill’s momentum. As well as ensuring stronger enforcement, the Government could instigate a data firewall between the Fair Work Agency and Immigration enforcement, to encourage foreign-born workers to report unlawful treatment without fear of repercussions. The Foundation advises that these steps, alongside simplified worker status, continued trade union support, and new workertech tools, should help reduce precarity and the risk that precarious work causes exploitation.

Hannah Slaughter, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said:

“With one-in-six foreign-born workers in the UK labour market experiencing precarious employment, more needs to be done to protect these and UK-born workers from exploitation.

“Failing to protect the existing rights of foreign-born workers risks creating a two-tier workforce, driving down standards across the entire labour market and allowing rogue employers to profit in a ‘race to the bottom’.

“The Government’s Employment Rights Bill will offer vital additional protections to all workers – but without creating a data firewall between labour market and immigration enforcement bodies, there remains a risk that worker exploitation will continue to go unreported.”