Tag: TUC

“Around two million people in the UK are living with Long Covid – more than the populations of Manchester and Birmingham combined.

“Economic inactivity is rising almost 10 times as fast for people with Long Covid than for those without the condition. And older workers are being hit the hardest.

“Ministers must ensure everyone with Long Covid is recognised as disabled under the Equality Act. This will give them the support they need to continue to do their jobs and formal protection under employment law.

“And Long Covid must also be recognised as an occupational disease. That would entitle employees to protection and compensation if they contracted the virus while working.

“It’s a scandal that more than two and a half years after the first lockdown, the workers who kept our country going through the pandemic have still been offered no support.”

The ONS figures show that:

• Between July 2021 and July 2022, the inactivity rate among working-age people with self-reported Long Covid grew by 3.8 percentage points, compared with 0.4 percentage points among working-age people without self-reported Long Covid.
• The relationship between self-reported Long Covid and inactivity (excluding retirement) was strongest for people aged 50 to 64 years, where the higher odds of inactivity compared with pre-infection peaked at a 71.2% increase among people reporting Long Covid 30 to 39 weeks post-infection.

• But men who work flexibly are most likely to be working from home
• TUC calls on ministers to quickly act on their promise to extend and strengthen flexible working rights, so everyone has access to well-paid flexible work

Women are much more likely than men to be in flexible working arrangements that mean they lose hours, and therefore pay, according to new TUC analysis of official statistics.

The findings are published today (Thursday), a year to the day the government closed its consultation on flexible work, and ahead of the next committee stage of Yasmin Qureshi MP’s private members bill on flexible work.

Flexible work 

Millions of people across the UK are now working flexibly. Flexible working can take lots of different forms, including working from home, job sharing, compressed hours, part-time and term-time working.

Some of these arrangements, like part-time and term-term only working, have a financial impact as staff work less hours so receive less pay.

But other forms of flexible work, like home working and compressed hours, mean workers can continue to work full-time and not lose hours and therefore pay.

Flexible work arrangements with less hours 

The new TUC analysis reveals that women are much more likely than men to be in flexible working arrangements that mean they work less hours and take a salary hit, like part-time and term-time only working.

The union body argues that a lack of good flexible working opportunities and the unequal division of caring responsibilities is forcing some women into flexibility that results in loss of pay:

• Part-time: Part-time working (less than 30 hours a week) is by far the most common form of flexible working arrangement for women. More than one in three (35.7%) work part-time, compared to just one in nine (11.5%) men. According to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a woman working part-time is paid on average £5.40 an hour less than a full-time man (a 33% pay gap). And not only are part-time workers paid less than full-time workers – but they have fewer career, pay and progression opportunities compared to full-time workers.

• Term-time only: Nearly one in 13 (7.9%) of women work term-time only, for around 39 weeks of the year instead of 52 weeks (75% of the year). But less than one in 50 (1.8%) men choose this option, so women are over four times more likely than men to be working term-time only.
• Job sharing: While job sharing is the least common form of flexible working arrangement, women are three times more likely than men (0.6% compared to 0.2%) to be in a job share role – where more than one worker shares a job.

Homeworking 

However, the picture with homeworking is different. The analysis reveals that even before the pandemic, men were more likely than women to be working at home, which doesn’t result in a loss of hours.

In 2019, one in 13 (8%) men were working at home, compared to one in 17 (6%) women. And in 2021, nearly one in 4 (23%) men worked mainly at home, compared to just over one in 5 (21%) women.

Even in jobs dominated by women, men are more likely than women to be homeworking:

• In arts and recreation, where over half (52%) of employees are women, only one in six (16%) work from home, compared to around one in five (19%) men.
• And in accommodation and food, (again where more than half, 56%, of the workforce are women), around one in 50 (2%) women work at home, compared to one in 25 (4%) men.

The TUC argues that greater access to all types of flexible working arrangements would provide more opportunity for women to take up the types of flexibility – should they want to – that do not impact hours worked and pay.

The union body says that part-time jobs must also be designed to ensure they offer equivalent pay, and the same career and progression opportunities, so that those who do want to work part time don’t miss out.

And normalising and improving flexible working options would also encourage more men to take up these options and share caring responsibilities, says the TUC.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Flexible work shouldn’t always mean less hours or less pay.

“But too often, women pay a heavy financial price for trying to balance their work and caring responsibilities, being forced to drop hours – and lose pay – rather than fork out for extortionate childcare costs.

“This isn’t right. We need to ensure everyone has access to as many flexible working options as possible – not just the ones that leave you worse off.

“Flexible working lets people both work and support their families. It’s how we keep mums in their jobs and close the gender pay gap. It gives dads more time with their kids. And it helps disabled workers, older workers and carers stay in work.

“But the current system isn’t working. Employers can turn down flexible working requests with impunity. And workers are too scared to ask about flexible working when applying for a job, for fear of not getting appointed.

“Ministers promised to modernise employment law to make flexible working options the norm for every job.

“The way to do that is for ministers to require all jobs to be advertised with the possible flexible working options stated – and to give all workers the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job.”

Government consultation

Ministers have promised to strengthen flexible working. The government ran a flexible work consultation at the end of last year.

Over 5,700 people submitted a response to this but almost a year on, they are still waiting for the results.

The TUC wants the consultation to deliver real flexibility for working people, including:

• Unlocking the flexibility in all jobs. Every job can be worked flexibly. There are a range of hours-based and location-based flexibilities to choose from – and there is a flexible option that will work for every type of job. Employers should think upfront about the flexible working options that are available in a role, publish these in all job adverts and give successful applicants a day one right to take it up.
• Making flexible working a genuine legal right from the first day in a job. People should have the right to work flexibly from day one, unless the employer can properly justify why this is not possible. Workers should have the right to appeal any rejections. And there shouldn’t be a limit on how many times you can ask for flexible working arrangements in a year.

• Disabled women face even bigger pay penalty of 35%, over £7,000 a year
• TUC writes to government to call for mandatory disability pay gap reporting

New analysis published by the TUC today (Monday) shows that non-disabled workers now earn a sixth (17.2%) more than disabled workers.

The analysis found that the pay gap for disabled workers currently stands at £2.05 an hour – or £3,731 per year for someone working a 35-hour week.

This pay gap – which has increased from 16.5% last year – means that disabled people effectively work for free for the last 54 days of the year and stop getting paid today, on the day the TUC has branded Disability Pay Gap Day.

Disability pay gap by gender and age

The new TUC analysis reveals that disabled women face the biggest pay gap. Non-disabled men are paid on average 35% (£3.93 an hour, or £7,144 a year) more than disabled women.

The research also shows that the disability pay gap persists for workers throughout their careers. It starts at age 20 at 65p an hour and increases steadily with age to a peak of £3.55 an hour, or £6,461 a year, for disabled workers aged 40 to 44.

Regional and industrial disability pay gaps

The analysis looked at pay data from across the country and found disability pay gaps in every region of England.

The highest pay gaps are in the South East (22% or £2.78 an hour), and the West Midlands and the South West (both 17% or £2.20 an hour).

The research found that disability pay gaps also vary by industry. The biggest pay gap is in financial and industrial services, where the pay gap stands at 39% or £5.90 an hour, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (24%) and mining and quarrying and admin and support services (both 18%).

Unemployment

Not only are disabled workers paid less than non-disabled workers, they are also more likely to be excluded from the job market.

Disabled workers are now twice as likely as non-disabled workers to be unemployed (6.8% compared to 3.4%).

And the analysis shows disabled BME workers face a much tougher labour market – 10.9% of BME disabled workers are unemployment compared to 2.8% of white non-disabled workers.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Everybody deserves a fair chance to get a job with decent pay. Being disabled should not mean you’re on a lower wage – or that you’re excluded from the jobs market altogether.

“It’s time to introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting to shine a light on inequality at work. Without this, millions of disabled workers will be consigned to years of lower pay and in-work poverty.

“During the pandemic, many disabled people were able to work flexibly or from home for the first time. We must ensure this continues – flexible workplaces are accessible workplaces and give everyone better work life balance.

“Ministers must change the law so that all jobs are advertised with flexible options clearly stated, and all workers have the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job.”

Disability pay gap reporting

The TUC has today (Monday) written to the government to call for urgent action to address the disability pay gap.

The union body wants the government to bring in mandatory disability pay gap reporting for all employers with more than 50 employees.

The TUC says the legislation should be accompanied by a duty on employers to produce action plans identifying the steps they will take to address any gaps identified.

Government action needed

To address the causes of the pay gap, the TUC is calling for:

• The National Minimum Wage to be raised to £15 an hour as soon as possible.

• More funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to enforce disabled workers’ rights to reasonable adjustments. The EHRC must update their statutory code of practice to include more examples of reasonable adjustments, to help disabled workers get the adjustments they need quickly and effectively.
• A stronger legal framework for reasonable adjustments including: ensuring employers respond quickly to requests, substantial penalties for bosses who fail to provide adjustments and for reasonable adjustment passports to be mandatory in all public bodies.
• A day one right to flexible working for everyone and a duty on employers to include possible flexible working options in job adverts.

We need to transition the economy to high-wage, high-skilled and secure jobs. And shift our economic model away from a reliance on low-paid and insecure work.

As part of our package of measures to deal with the cost of living crisis, the TUC is also calling for the minimum wage to be uprated by at least inflation this October – as opposed to April next year when the uprating was due.

The minimum wage began life in 1999 against a backdrop of opposition from Tories, business groups, and even some economists. But since then, we have proven that the minimum wage is effective. It has delivered pay increases for the lowest paid workers, without causing job losses. There is now a widespread consensus in favour of the minimum wage. This reaches across academic experts and across political divides.

The TUC believes it is time for the minimum wage to take the next step. But if the minimum wage is just £9.50 an hour now, how do we get to £15? Here’s the plan:

1) Deliver a return to normal pre-crisis wage growth

Workers are living through the longest and harshest wage squeeze in 200 years, but it hasn’t always been like this. Up until the financial crash, wages saw sustained growth in every decade in modern [sic]

This wage stagnation has held the minimum wage back, because the wage floor is explicitly tied to median wages. The government must deliver a return to normal wage growth so workers get proper pay rises for the first time in over a decade.

We need to see sustained pay growth, year on year, so that median wages reach £20 an hour as soon as possible. This will underpin our £15 minimum wage. The government can make wage growth happen by delivering:

• A macroeconomic approach which boosts demand and creates growth
• A plan to strengthen and extend collective bargaining across the economy including introducing fair pay agreements to set minimum pay and conditions across whole sectors
• A life-long learning and skills strategy to fill labour shortages, boost productivity and so workers can update their skills throughout their working life
• Corporate governance reform to prioritise long-term sustainable growth, rather than short-term focus on shareholder returns
• Industrial and trade policies to promote good jobs and ensure that businesses compete on a level playing field
• Making decent jobs a requirement of all government spending and procurement.

2) Raise the minimum wage target to 75% of median wages

Secondly, the TUC believes government should raise its target for the minimum wage. The current target is 66 per cent of median wages by 2024. The obvious next step is 75 per cent.

Since it was introduced, the minimum wage has increased as a proportion of the median wage. The wage floor was introduced at 47 per cent and is now on its way to 66 per cent by 2024. As unions predicted, the evidence continues to show a positive effect on wages and no job losses.

The government should set its next target at 75 per cent of median wages and make progress towards this. The Low Pay Commission should be responsible for the path based on consultation and negotiation through its social partnership model which brings together unions, and independent experts. This model provides an effective way to make sure we can keep the minimum wage rising over time.

Conclusions

If our plans are implemented, we will get:

• A return to normal wage growth getting average wages up to £20 an hour
• A 75% minimum wage target establishing a £15 an hour minimum wage

This must be delivered as soon as possible. A government that is serious about wage growth will be able to get us there. And trade unions will also play a key role in getting wages to these levels more quickly. Workers in unions will see bigger pay rises. And in sectors with good collective bargaining coverage, a £15 floor will be implemented earlier. Fair Pay Agreements should be rolled out, and anti-trade union legislation should be repealed, so workers can win higher pay ahead of the minimum wage. Unions are already fighting for £15 in workplaces up and down the country and its time employers paid up.