Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom (RSF's Project on Low-Wage Work in Europe and the US)

The United Kingdom's labor market policies place it in a kind of institutional middle ground between the United States and continental Europe. Low pay grew sharply between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, in large part due to the decline of unions and collective bargaining and the removal of protections for the low paid. The changes instituted by Tony Blair's New Labour government since 1997, including the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, halted the growth in low pay but have not reversed it. Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom explains why the current level of low-paying work remains one of the highest in Europe. The authors argue that the failure to deal with low pay reflects a policy approach which stressed reducing poverty, but also centers on the importance of moving people off benefits and into work, even at low wages. The U.K. government has introduced a version of the U.S. welfare to work policies and continues to stress the importance of a highly flexible and competitive labor market. A central policy theme has been that education and training can empower people to both enter work and to move into better paying jobs. The case study research reveals the endemic nature of low paid work and the difficulties workers face in escaping from the bottom end of the jobs ladder. However, compared to the United States, low paid workers in the United Kingdom do benefit from in-work social security benefits, targeted predominately at those with children, and entitlements to non-pay benefits such as annual leave, maternity and sick pay, and crucially, access to state-funded health care. Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom skillfully illustrates the way that the interactions between government policies, labor market institutions, and the economy have ensured that low pay remains a persistent problem within the United Kingdom. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies The United Kingdom Story / Robert Solow -- Low-paid Work In The United Kingdom : An Overview / Geoff Mason, Ken Mayhew, And Matthew Osborne -- Low Pay, Labor Market Institutions, And Job Quality In The United Kingdom / Geoff Mason ... [et Al.] -- Just Like The Elves In Harry Potter : Room Attendants In United Kingdom Hotels / Eli Dutton ... [et Al.] -- Business Strategies, Work Organization, And Low Pay In United Kingdom Retailing / Geoff Mason And Matthew Osborne -- Improving The Position Of Low-wage Workers Through New Coordinating Institutions : The Case Of Public Hospitals / Damian Grimshaw And Marilyn Carroll -- Supply Chain Pressures And Migrant Workers : Deteriorating Job Quality In The United Kingdom Food-processing Industry / Susan James And Caroline Lloyd -- It's Just The Nature Of The Job At The End Of The Day : Pay And Job Quality In United Kingdom Mass-market Call Centers / Caroline Lloyd ... [et Al.] -- Low-wage Work In The United Kingdom : Employment Practices, Institutional Effects, And Policy Responses / Damian Grimshaw, Caroline Lloyd, And Chris Warhurst. Caroline Lloyd, Geoff Mason, And Ken Mayhew, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web. "Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom explains why the current level of low-paying work remains one of the highest in Europe. The authors argue that the failure to deal with low pay reflects a policy approach which stresses reducing poverty, but also centers on the importance of moving people off benefits and into work, even at low wages. The UK government has introduced a version of the U.S. welfare to work policies and continues to stress the importance of a highly flexible and competitive labor market. A central policy theme has been that education and training can empower people to both enter work and to move into better paying jobs. Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom illustrates the way that the interactions between government policies, labor market institutions, and the economy have ensured that low pay remains a persistent problem within the United Kingdom."--BOOK JACKET Title Page, Copyright Contents About the Authors Introduction: The United Kingdom Story 1. Low-Paid Work in the United Kingdom: An Overview 2. Low Pay, Labor Market Institutions, and Job Quality in the United Kingdom 3. “Just Like the Elves in Harry Potter”: Room Attendants in United Kingdom Hotels 4. Business Strategies, Work Organization, and Low Pay in United Kingdom Retailing 5. Improving the Position of Low-Wage Workers Through New Coordinating Institutions: The Case of Public Hospitals 6. Supply Chain Pressures and Migrant Workers: Deteriorating Job Quality in the United Kingdom Food-Processing Industry 7. “It’s Just the Nature of the Job at the End of the Day”: Pay and Job Quality in United Kingdom Mass-Market Call Centers 8. Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom: Employment Practices, Institutional Effects, and Policy Responses Index