Working Lives Survey

An independent report based on the study concluded this scale of violation "challenges received wisdom that most businesses are compliant, and only a few 'bad apples' undermine labour standards." IOSH policy specialist Ceri Finnegan takes a closer look at what’s a clearly challenging picture for UK workers.

The Working Lives research project was commissioned in 2022 by the former Office of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement (ODLME). It was intended to fill a major evidence gap in our understanding of labour market non-compliance relating to minimum wage enforcement, employment agency standards, gangmaster licensing and more serious labour exploitation.

Since April this year, operational compliance and enforcement activity in these areas and other work carried out by the ODLME has come under the remit of the Fair Work Agency (FWA). These changes were driven by last year’s introduction of the Employment Rights Act. The Working Lives research, which represents a key milestone for the FWA in producing its first strategy, early next year, brings valuable insights around health and safety, the gig economy, bullying and harassment and worker voice.

Published by the FWA, the research found that 5.4 million workers were paid less than the national minimum wage, charged illicit work-finding fees and/or not provided legally required payslips, employment contracts or key information documents. These are all key violations of UK employment law.

The rate of these violations increased to 25.6 per cent for the most vulnerable or 'precarious' workers. Their vulnerability lay in their low-income, non-traditional jobs, their immigrant or ethnic minority background in a small workplace, or a combination of these.

Researchers also found that 70 per cent of workers have experienced a broader range of illegal, potentially illegal or otherwise harmful practices at work, such as working unpaid overtime, being physically injured in the workplace, having to pay unfair wage deductions, facing leave-related difficulties, negative mental health impacts of work, and bullying and harassment.

"A real opportunity"

These findings highlight a very real challenge brought by widely distributed issues and harms across the UK. It paints a picture that’s highly relevant and challenging to the work of the newly established FWA.

IOSH very much welcomes the FWA, and we wrote to both Matthew Taylor and Chief Executive Lisa Pinney to express our hope that the agency’s ethos will be founded on prevention-first, intelligence-driven and well-coordinated action to deliver lasting improvements for workers and responsible employers.

The continuing nature and scale of labour market harms is complex, characterised by insecure work, labour exploitation and modern slavery, often embedded in convoluted supply chains. There are strong links between fair work and occupational safety and health and embedding prevention-first principles is going to be vital to the extent of FWA’s success.

When jobs and workplaces are well designed and well managed, they can be safer, healthier, more productive and more competitive. They can also help build more sustainable, more resilient organisations.