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How flexible working could help tackle in-work poverty

Hands holding British pound coin and small money pouch - representing in-work povertyA new report from Trust for London, an organisation committed to tackling poverty and equality in the capital, has revealed some stark new insights about London’s poverty profile. Whilst the overall poverty figure has nudged down from 29% to 27% over the last six years, the report shockingly reveals that more than half of the 2.3 million Londoners who are living in poverty are in working families.

What’s more, this proportion is the highest it’s ever been. 20 years ago, only 28% of Londoners in poverty were living in a working family; 10 years ago, it was 44%. So today’s figure of 58% is a record that no one wants to celebrate: for too many Londoners, working doesn’t always pay – or pay enough.

Flexible working is part of the solution

Clearly, there are many factors contributing to the problem; the high cost of housing in the capital, the prevalence of low pay, underemployment and insecure work all play their part. And while housing is not something we’re qualified to tackle, we’re confident that can we can offer support with one key part of the solution: flexible working.

As our own research has shown, the supply of quality flexible jobs is lower in London than in the rest of the UK (only 8% of London jobs paying over £20k are advertised as being flexible). This means many of the people who need to work flexibly end up trapped in low paid roles beneath their skill set, because the next flexible step up the ladder doesn’t exist. And for others, the lack of flexible or part time roles mean they aren’t able to work at all, which has a clear impact on household incomes.

Let’s work together to tackle in-work poverty

The good news is, this is a problem that we know how to fix. By designing jobs at all levels with flexibility built in, and being prepared to advertise them as flexible or part time at the point of hire, employers can improve career progression options for people who need to work in this way. This will not only allow employees to increase their earning power, but also opens up opportunities for others to fill their shoes and so enter the flexible jobs market.

We’re already tacking this on the ground, in partnership with a variety of organisations. For example, we’re working with Trust for London to support low-paid parents through their StepUp London project. We’re running a place-based project funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and an initiative to support residents of social housing provider L&Q. And our Timewise Councils accreditation programme is helping a number of London local authorities unlock their local labour markets to flexibility.

We’re also working with a range of employers to try and make the flexible and part time roles that currently exist more secure and more predictable – such as, working with social care providers to pilot team based rostering. And we’re aiming to improve career progression for flexible and part time workers, by helping businesses design flexibility into roles higher up the scale.

But if we’re really to tackle the issue of in-work poverty across our capital, all London employers need to do their bit. We’ve got an expert team in place with huge experience in creating and developing flexible working strategies to support low income families; please get in touch to find out more.

 

To find out more about our consultancy and training services, or to discuss the possibility of becoming a Timewise Council, please contact us via info@timewisefoundation.org.uk

Published October 2017

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