Insecure work up by a quarter since 2011

The number of people in insecure work without guaranteed hours or baseline employment rights has increased by more than 660,000 (27%) over the past five years, according to new research published this week by the TUC.

This growth in people working in precarious work is being driven mainly by traditional industries, rather than newer tech sectors: restaurant and pub waiters make up one-fifth of the increase. The number in insecure work more than doubled, rising by 146,000 (+128%) since 2011.

Meanwhile, education workers account for over one-tenth of the increase in precarious working, and social care accounts for another tenth.

The TUC estimates that over 3 million people now work in insecure jobs – up from 2.4 million in 2011. That represents 1 in 10 workers in the UK.

The study, commissioned by the TUC from the Learning and Work Institute, defines insecure work as seasonal, casual, temporary or agency work, those on zero-hour contracts and low-paid self-employed workers.

The TUC says what all these contracts have in common is that they leave working people in the position where: their wages can fluctuate without warning; they find it hard to get their basic employment rights respected; they miss out on key protections like sick pay; and they are at the mercy of bosses who can withdraw their hours or even take them off the job with no notice.

The TUC is publishing a league table of industries where workers are most likely to face insecurity. This includes:

• Arts and entertainment (2 in 3)
• Domestic workers (2 in 5)
• Transport services such as freight (1 in 3)
• Clothes manufacturing (1 in 4)

The findings also show that people in unionised workplaces are twice as likely to be in secure jobs.

TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “Insecurity at work is becoming the new normal for too many workers. It’s happening across new and old industries, with workers forced onto shady contracts whether they’re Uber drivers, bar staff or teaching assistants.

“People need jobs they can live on and build a life around. But if you don’t know how much work you will have from one day to the next, making ends meet is a nightmare.

“How is a working parent supposed to plan childcare when they don’t know the hours they’ll be working? And how can it be right that in 2017 workers are at the mercy of bad bosses who can just take away all their hours or throw them off the job with no notice?

“The rules that protect workers need to be dragged into the twenty-first century. The Government’s Taylor review is a prime opportunity to sort this. But we also need to get more people into unions. Workers in unionised workplaces are twice as likely to be on secure contract.”