An investment in low-paid workers pays off

Jo Faragher

The REC’s latest research looking into what motivates low-paid workers highlights just how the challenges of low-wage work stretch beyond the cost of living and into issues such as lack of access to training, poor progression opportunities and the monotony of the work itself.

For all the hot air that’s been generated over the morality of zero-hours contracts in the past couple of years, it’s important that a light is now being shone on not just the pay or the nature of someone’s contract itself, but what it means for them and their long-term career. Too often, the discussion around minimum wage, zero hours workers focused on numbers and what certain employers or political parties were going to do about them, rather than the individuals themselves.

The report, “Getting On: What pay and progression looks like for low-paid workers today”, shows why people undertake low-paid work and this is for a myriad of reasons, often at transition points in their lives.

But that doesn’t mean we can ignore the needs of this tranche of the workforce. Providing career-focused training, for example, will not only help an employee gain ground in their current role, it will set them up for future jobs, and make them feel far more loyal to their employer.

Certain sectors will feel this particularly keenly over the next year or so, with the Government’s National Living Wage coming in next April for those over 25. The care industry, hospitality and retail all employ many workers on low wages and will face making cost efficiencies to ensure they receive the right rate.

Where they do face rationalising the workforce, perhaps taking a more rounded approach – for example offering development opportunities or discounts to those on a low wage – will help prevent the high turnover and recruitment costs often associated with low-paid work.

As Kevin Green from the REC says, investment in training is a ‘win-win’ – just because someone isn’t a high earner, doesn’t mean they don’t have potential. The work has been done in the political arena to raise the statutory minimum pay rate for low-paid workers; now it’s up to industry to improve their lot further through investing in their future.