Poor quality jobs are locking people out of the labour market and fuelling the UK’s economic inactivity crisis, research from Timewise has found.
The Healthy by Design study from the non-profit consultancy for flexible working found that insecure, inflexible and excessive hours in certain industries are driving people with long-term health conditions out of work and preventing them from staying employed.
The problem is not the number of jobs available but the quality of those jobs, the report said. Sectors highlighted include retail, transport, health, social care and hospitality, with researchers adding that there is a stark mismatch between the work people want to do and the work they are most likely to get.
Surveys consistently show that most health and disability benefit claimants would prefer part-time, flexible roles with the option of working from home.
Low return rates
Only 2.5 percent of people who are economically inactive due to ill-health move back into work each year. Among those that do return, 56.6 percent move into ‘frontline roles’ such as process, plant and machine operatives, and in caring and leisure occupations. These jobs are often physically demanding and, the report said, are, “associated with higher levels of unpredictable, inflexible and excessive hours – precisely the kinds of jobs many disabled people say they cannot sustain”.
The result is churn rather than stability, researchers said, with more than half of the jobs held by people who are formerly inactive or long-term sick lasting less than four months.
Timewise CEO Clare McNeil and director of programmes Tess Lanning warn that this “revolving door of inactivity” undermines government ambitions to reach 80 percent employment.
“Without action to increase schedule flexibility and control for workers in these sectors, the government’s return on investment in back-to-work support for the formerly inactive long-term sick will be disappointing,” the report stated.
Strategy for good jobs
In response to this problem, the consultancy has called for a new industrial strategy for good jobs that would tackle the structural issues in everyday sectors. Researchers argue that improvements in job design are as important as back-to-work schemes in reducing sickness and boosting retention.
Proposals include new cross-industry Healthy Work Standards, which would build on the reforms in the Employment Rights Bill. The standards would set the minimum floor for employment practices. Timewise suggested clear employer guidelines would be needed to encourage the design of high quality flexible jobs and minimise practices that can create or exacerbate ill health.
The consultancy also called for the introduction of Workforce Innovation Agreements to be backed by an initial £500m Frontline Workplace Innovation Fund. It said these sector-specific agreements would be negotiated by social partners and would reward employers for committing to reducing staff sickness. By improving retention and levels of people returning to work, employers could be rewarded with access to preferential procurement, business support, innovation grants and training. Timewise said similar agreements in Norway have proved successful and have increased the probability of employed individuals signing up to staying in work and returning to work after sick leave.
Timewise also recommended re-purposing existing government business and employment support to focus on job quality. It said that the Department for Work and Pensions should maintain investment in Access to Work and reform it by building in job design and in-work support capability.
McNeil and Lanning pointed out that successive governments have neglected the issue of job quality in frontline sectors. Incoming changes, under the Employment Rights Bill, will curb some of the worst practices associated with zero- and low-hours contracts, but they said this is not enough. “A broader industrial strategy for good jobs would signal a more ambitious approach that ensures jobs support employee health and wellbeing. In doing so, it wouldn’t just help people back into work, it would ensure they can stay in work and thrive.”
‘Troubling disconnect’
Dominika Dahm, solicitor in the employment team at Birketts law firm, said the research revealed “a troubling disconnect between the aspirations of long-term sick and disabled individuals and the nature of the employment opportunities available to them”.
The data shows that many are eager to rejoin the workforce, she said, yet the roles that they secure are often physically demanding, unsecure and ill-suited to their health circumstances leading to a short tenure.
“Employers who fail to accommodate these workers face significant legal exposure. Under the Equality Act 2010, there is a statutory duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees and job applicants. Failure to do so can result in claims for discrimination and substantial awards at employment tribunals. Additionally, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 obliges employers to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that work does not pose health risks. This is a duty which is particularly relevant when assigning physically intensive roles, and it can be a costly omission if overlooked.”
Dahm added that the Employment Rights Bill will further heighten employer responsibilities, including enhanced protections against unfair dismissal, regulating zero-hour contracts and strengthening rights around flexible working.
“Employers who fail to adapt their recruitment and retention practices risk not only reputational harm but also increased litigation and regulatory scrutiny. It is imperative that businesses move beyond symbolic inclusion and invest in inclusive job design, meaningful workplace adjustments, and retention strategies that enable disabled and long-term sick individuals to thrive in the workplace.”
