It's good to see the Commons have rejected the Lords' amendments that would seek to water down the one day rights provision and guaranteed hours for zero hour contract workers. Expected impact 📊 Decrease severely insecure work by an estimated 1.2m workers.

📢 My new journal article is out today in Global Political Economy in a great collection edited by @jmchickson.bsky.social and @stellamorgana.bsky.social. I explore job insecurity across England’s mayoral combined authorities — and what this means for regional inequality and economic growth. A🧵...

Join us next Tuesday to discuss the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill with @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social, @benrharrison.bsky.social, Shazia Ejaz from @recmembers.bsky.social, @katenightingale.bsky.social from @youngwomenstrust.bsky.social and Lord John Hendy from @ieruk.bsky.social.

Comment from our Principal Analyst @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social on the latest release of earnings data from the @ONS: www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

Comment from our Principal Analyst @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social on the latest CPI inflation release from the ONS ⬇️ “Cost of living pressures are persisting for workers and their families across the UK as inflation is at its joint highest level since January 2024 at 3.8%. (1/6)

We are still at near zero real earnings growth since Sept 2024, 11th month in row. We had a very small rise in earnings in August 2025 on previous month, leaving earnings up just 0.2% on Sept 2024.

Such a great piece from @tbij.bsky.social that highlights how difficult it is for workers to access and enforce their rights - it shows truly staggering figures of non-payment of tribunal awards by employers, and that's not even counting the personal cost to workers.

Very pleased to see my analysis of the impact on insecure work of two key reforms in the Employment Rights Bill covered by the Guardian today! Full report on the @workfoundation.bsky.social website (link in comment below).

Zero-hours contracts: peers accused of ‘trying to block stronger UK workers’ rights’

Ahead of a crucial vote on cuts to disability benefits, our new evidence casts doubt on whether jobs are even available for disabled people facing cuts 📢 The analysis found that the parts of the country among the hardest hit by the cuts have fewer job opportunities 1/3

Today’s stats paint a picture of a weakening labour market. Unemployment is rising (4.6%), vacancies are falling, and more people are returning to the labour market—often out of necessity, not opportunity. This should be a red flag ahead of tomorrow’s Spending Review. 🧵(1/6)

Really pleased to be featured in @the-independent.com yesterday in response to the rise in zero-hour contracts. Contary to some expectations, employers are not (yet) dropping zhc's ahead of the Employment Rights Bill coming in. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home... @workfoundation.bsky.social

🔎 The UK labour market appears steady — but beneath the surface, pressure is building. This month’s ONS figures show employment holding at 75%, but early indicators suggest we may be heading for turbulence. Let’s unpack what’s happening. 🧵

Comment from our Principal Analyst @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social on zero-hour contract data from the ONS ⬇️ “Today’s data indicates a marked increase in the use of zero-hour contracts in the last year. There are now 1.17 million zero-hour contract workers, the second highest level on record. (1/7)

Spot on, @jonburton.bsky.social! Workers can remain stuck in insecurity for many years, with detrimental impacts on earnings, health and future opportunities - and ultimately the economy. Read the blog here: blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/no-progress-...

Our Principal Analyst @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social recently spoke to HR360 about the Government's flagship Employment Rights Bill and what it could mean for workers and employers. hr-360.co.uk/leadership-i... Here are the three top takeaways (1/4):

Yesterday's #SpringStatement was costed & found to push 250,000 more people into poverty by 2029/30—including 50,000 children. Today, new gov analysis shows 28% of children already live in material deprivation. Austerity isn't over. It's deepening. www.gov.uk/government/s...

Spread the word! Exciting new fully funded PhD opportunity to research disabled people's lived experiences of benefit reform and the costs of disability. Deadline: 10 April @uofglasgow.bsky.social @uofgussp.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social @sgsss.bsky.social @clemmiehilloconnor.bsky.social

Earlier today, our Principal Analyst @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social responded to the Department for Work and Pensions's impact assessment of the health & disability benefit cuts⬇️ Read the full statement here: www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

Our Principal Analyst @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social responds to DWP's impact assessment of the health & disability benefit cuts⬇️ “The Chancellor pledged to restore stability in part by making cuts to welfare, but in doing so the Government is likely to inject instability into... (1/6)

The Health and Disability Green paper will deliver tiny income gains at the cost of major losses for those with health problems or a disability. Restricting PIP qualification to save £5bn would mean between 800,000 & 1.2 million people losing support of between £4,200 & £6,300 per year by 2029-30.

Great to see the @bigissue.com pick up on our policy paper today on disabled workers' experiences of remote and hybrid working @irhws.bsky.social with @lancasteruni.bsky.social @manmetuni.bsky.social & Universal Inclusion, supported by the @nuffieldfoundation.org www.bigissue.com/news/employm...

Pleased to see the launch of the first output from our @irhws.bsky.social project today, exploring disabled workers' experiences of remote & hybrid working and putting forward a number of policy recommendations for the government. Thread below on some of our key findings 👇

Looking ahead to the disability benefits green paper, this essay for @citizensadvice.bsky.social makes the case for a system focused on improving health outcomes. Co-authors @maddyirose.bsky.social, @victoria-anns.bsky.social & Simon Collerton We challenge the 5 big falsehoods underpinning cuts…🧵

📢 New blog post 📢 💼Why are working class applicants less likely to be hired? blogs.ucl.ac.uk/cepeo/2025/0... Following on from our @nuffieldfoundation.org report today’s blog post focuses on why working class young people (yp) are less likely to be offered jobs than their more advantaged peers

I constantly hear/see journalists, commentators & interviewers asserting how easy it is to get incapacity & disability benefits despite clearly having no real understanding of how the process actually works or having spoken to someone who's been through it. Completely distorts public understanding

📈 Number of NEET increased to 987k. The focus on mental health makes sense - it's a big part of the problem - but this story misses that the increase we're seeing is driven by young people actively looking for work but not obtaining it = different problem. (1/4) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

My early door's comment to today's labour market statistics:

Always welcome to see the 4-day working week w/o loss of pay brought into the conversation. Labour MP Peter Dowd tabled amendment for the Employment Rights Bill arguing for a tripartite Working Time Council to advise gov on shifting the UK from 5 to 4 days. www.personneltoday.com/hr/four-day-...

New Unison survey finds that quarter of migrant care staff were paid less than the minimum wage + over 50% were not paid for time spent travelling between visits. Visa system for care workers creates power imbalance and leaves very little room for recourse for workers. www.ft.com/content/703f...

Great to see support for the proposed Employment Rights Bill across the political spectrum, with nearly 3 in 4 in support of banning zero hours contracts, widening access to Statutory Sick Pay and granting employment rights from day one. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

New data from the ONS this morning shows the reality of how endometriosis affects women's careers & income - and the potential ripple effect on the UK economy. A 🧵 ... www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

Shows that zero-hours can be a very permanent state, with some people stuck in this for years not knowing how many hours/wages they'll get week to week.

NEW PAPER @talfeder.bsky.social @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social @siobhanmcandrew.bsky.social @markrt.bsky.social & I demonstrate the “parenthood penalty” for mothers in creative jobs journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... Open access in Work and Occupations

It’s astonishing how little we hold water companies to account in this country. So many Qs: Massive hike in water bills? 2.5m households already in debt to water companies + WHY is it that consumers are having to take the brunt of “5 yr investment of new infrastructure” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Costly sticking plaster with ONS hiring temp staff to try and improve reliability of Labour Force Survey. For a longer term fix, why not make responding to the survey mandatory, like in Canada, Belgium, France, Germany etc. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The Health Foundation has published new analysis on mental health trends among working age people and invited me to share some thoughts. Taking a more holistic approach to understanding capacity for work seems to be at the heart of it: www.health.org.uk/features-and...

Why do wrong-doing benefit claimants need special rather than general punishments? Why not same for tax dodgers? And when someone has been caught doing cash-in-hand shifts do you really want to make it impossible for them to find a proper job & get off benefits? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New survey finds work-life balance is more important to workers than pay (in @theguardian.com today) But the UK has some of the weakest working time protections in the OECD (see chart) - we also have an above average % employees working v. long hours www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancas...

This morning the BBC reported that Lord Rose stated that working from home is 'not proper work'. https://buff.ly/3E40aDl Our Principal Analyst, @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social commented: “The recent push-back from some employers to roll back on hybrid and remote work is unhelpful...

So many opinions, and so little evidence from proponents of return to the office in this article. It's all 'I think', and 'I have a nagging feeling' but no evidence on how hybrid/remote work is actually affecting productivity or the bottom line. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article....

This is 100% the kind of clickbait I'm into

Bank of England's monthly survey asked what businesses expect to do to meet the increased cost of National Insurance Contributions in April. Over half (54%) said they'd raise prices. With wage growth slowing and prices already high, that could add additional pressure to households.

A great read showing how difficult it is for workers on UC to take on more hours. "The reality is that most low-paid workers are within the scope of Income Tax and National Insurance and so their effective deduction rate is 68 per cent." On min wage, this means people are left with £3.71 per hour.

Now that the @irhws.bsky.social is coming to an end, I'm happy to say that from next week I'll be beginning a new role as a Senior Policy Adviser at Acas: exciting times! I'll miss academia, but also looking forward to the chance to enact positive change from the inside, for a change 👀

The last Labour government had a lot of success on child poverty by getting parents into work, but the current one is working in a different context: most families in poverty now have someone working, and those that don't face significant barriers. New research by @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social and me

Quick turn around here, suggests exposure and public debate can have an impact

The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better. All three statements are true at the same time. Understanding this is key to solving big global problems. We believe data & research can help us understand both the problems we face & the progress that’s possible. 🧵

🗞️New on the Data Impact blog 🗞️ Rebecca Florisson (@rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social), Principal Analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, discusses the issue of long-term insecure work. Read it here: blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/no-progress-... #work #employment #insecurework #noprogress