Low Pay Britain 2021

This year’s Low Pay Britain report looks at the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on those on low pay and what that might mean for such workers as the economy starts to recover. Workers in lower paid jobs have faced greater health and economic risks than high paid workers;  central to whether this is a recovery that ‘builds back better’ is whether it is one that benefits low paid workers, which means improvements in both pay and job quality. A key conclusion from our analysis is that policy makers shouldn’t assume that minimum wage policy and the reopening of the economy – while hugely beneficial – are sufficient to achieve this. In fact, there are major risks – in the shape of higher unemployment, decreasing job security and infringements of labour market rights.