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Purpose: Three years on from the Brexit vote, while it remains a central topic for debate in the media, there has been limited discussion about the human resource (HR) implications. The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical evaluation and informed discussion, distilled into four interconnected propositions, on how employee resourcing as a HR practice may be impacted following actual Brexit decisions. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the employee resourcing literature, the paper adopts a discursive approach which examines how the UK's decision to exit the European Union will affect HR practice. The paper draws comparison with the global recession since 2008, a similarly unprecedented development in its discussion of employee resourcing practices and draws parallels which may help to inform the future of HR practices in the UK, because of Brexit. Findings: This paper offers a set of propositions; the flow of talent into the UK may become more restricted and reinvigorate the "war for talent" that followed the effects of the global financial crisis on the UK. To attract and retain workers in relatively lower-skilled roles, employers may be faced with a need to re-skill such roles and adopt more flexible working arrangements. Finally, to meet skilled employment requirements, removal of restrictions to recruit from within the European Economic Area may trigger increased global migration of skilled workers. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the discussions regarding the implications of Brexit for HR practice by offering propositions to shape future research agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Yearbook of the Faculty of Political Sciences / Godisnjak Fakultet Politickih Nauka Beograd is the property of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what has happened to the notion and reality of equal pay over the past 50 years, a period in which women have become the majority of trade union members in the UK. It does so in the context of record employment levels based upon women’s increased labour market participation albeit reflecting their continued over-representation in part-time employment, locating the narrowed but persistent overall gender pay gap in the broader picture of pay inequality in the UK. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers voluntary and legal responses to inequality and the move away from voluntary solutions in the changed environment for unions. Following others it discusses the potential for collective bargaining to be harnessed to equality in work, a potential only partially realised by unions in a period in which their capacity to sustain collective bargaining was weakened. It looks at the introduction of a statutory route to collective bargaining in 2000, the National Minimum Wage from 1999 and at the Equality Act 2010 as legislative solutions to inequality and in terms of radical and liberal models of equality. Findings – The paper suggests that fuller employment based upon women’s increased labour market activity have not delivered an upward pressure on wages and has underpinned rather than closed pay gaps and social divisions. Legal measures have been limited in the extent to which they have secured equal pay and wider social equality, whilst state support for collective solutions to equality has waned. Its replacement by a statutory minimum wage initially closed pay gaps, but appears to have run out of steam as employers accommodate minimum hourly rates through the reorganisation of working time. Social implications – The paper suggests that statutory minima or even voluntary campaigns to lift hourly wage rates may cut across and even supersede wider existing collective bargaining agreements and as such they can reinforce the attack on collective bargaining structures, supporting arguments that this can reduce representation over pay, but also over a range of other issues at work (Ewing and Hendy, 2013), including equality. Originality/value – There are then limitations on a liberal model which is confined to promoting equality at an organisational level in a public sector subject to wider market forces. The fragmentation of bargaining and representation that has resulted will continue if the proposed dismantling of public services goes ahead and its impact upon equality is already suggested in the widening of the gender pay gap in the public sector in 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines trends in working‐age labour market and disposable income inequalities in the United Kingdom from 1968 to 2021 using microdata harmonised with 16 other high‐income countries. In the UK, the 1980s was a period of rising labour market inequalities and inequality in disposable incomes. Since the 1980s, changes have been more modest. Changing hours of work and changes in family structure have been important for understanding trends in individual and household earnings inequalities, respectively. Tax and benefit reforms have also played an important role in driving disposable income inequalities, with notable redistribution towards low‐income households between 1997 and 2010. We also provide evidence on the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic in the UK. Disposable income inequality fell slightly as increases in state benefits during the pandemic boosted incomes of poorer households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On any given weekend, over a fifth of the UK labour force is at work, while more than half of working adults report working at the weekend at least some of the time. This is despite the fact that weekends are conventionally set aside as rest days. The question that this paper addresses is: does this matter? This paper adds to the literature by using two large panel datasets to analyse the effects of weekend working on eight different measures of subjective well‐being in the UK. I find that weekend working has a significant impact on how satisfied people are with the amount of leisure time they have, with the results suggesting that avoiding weekend working is equivalent to working six fewer hours per week. Moreover, people working at the weekend report significantly lower happiness yesterday than non‐weekend workers. While weekend workers also experience lower levels of life satisfaction than non‐weekend workers, this difference disappears when controlling for unobserved heterogeneity between individuals. This suggests that there is no evidence that weekend working causes people to be worse off overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional view since the early 2000s has been that participation in higher education (HE) is a risky pathway for disadvantaged young people in England; the social risk of entering an alien environment combines with the financial risk of rising costs and questionable long-term returns. This riskiness has been constructed as a major barrier to participation. However, national administrative data cast doubt on whether this analysis still holds true. Despite significant rises in tuition fees, the proportion of disadvantaged young people entering HE has continued to rise, with advantaged groups seemingly being more price-sensitive. Data from recent qualitative studies has also suggested that young people are now less attuned to risks. This paper considers whether circumstances in wider society have shifted perceptions of risk. The volatility resulting from the global financial crisis appears to have repositioned HE as a less risky option than early entry to the labour market, especially with more jobs becoming 'graduate', while the social risk has declined as HE has diversified. The paper draws on theoretical perspectives from Beck, Boudon, Simon and Kahneman to argue that many disadvantaged young people now view HE as a form of 'insurance' against an uncertain future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore how the next government could develop a better deal in relation to work, pensions and poverty. The paper argues that given the changing face of poverty, the next government should focus on creating better jobs if it is really to encourage people to work longer and save more for retirement. Furthermore, it could do more to support those who are currently under-saving for retirement. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on evidence from a number of recent qualitative and quantitative JRF research reports and government statistical data. Findings - The paper suggests policy recommendations for the next government focused on creating better jobs and helping those on lower incomes increase their pension pots. This includes: ensuring that the minimum wages is set with regard to the changing price of essentials and changing average earnings; raising awareness of the Living Wage and playing a leadership role; industrial strategies for low paid sectors; mid-life career reviews and increased rights for those aged 60 and over; the redistribution of tax relief on pension contributions and the auto-escalation of workplace pensions. Originality/value - This paper looks at the issue of an ageing society, work and pensions through a poverty lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the limited empirical analysis of higher education students' perceptions of contemporary labour market demands. It explores their perspectives on the health of the graduate labour market, what factors determine these and how their perceptions relate to self-perceived employability, career proactivity, career control and efforts to develop positional advantage. Further, the study examines determinants of students' career planning, all in the context of a challenging graduate labour market and higher education systems that have become more market-driven. The paper draws on evidence from a survey among Australian and UK students (N = 433), from two institutions and across a range of disciplines. Data revealed a number of significant findings. Overall, students who reported more positive perceptions of the current labour market were more likely to develop higher self-perceptions of employability, believe they had a greater sense of control over their career yet were less engaged with proactive career behaviours. Students perceived employability, their sense of career control and their reported career proactivity positively determined their engagement in career planning. The study enhances our understanding of the impact of labour market demand-side factors on student approaches to careers. It raises significant implications for universities and their career practitioners in identifying ways of enhancing students' career planning strategies within a more challenging labour market context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing interest in island economies within Europe. In the European Union (EU) this has led to enhanced Cohesion Policy support for islands, along with a number of other regions facing geographical challenges. Because of major problems with data, comparative research on islands across different EU member states has been of limited extent. This paper explores the use of national data sets to undertake comparative cross-country analysis of islands. The paper concentrates on two member states, Greece and Britain, which have large numbers of offshore islands. Data from national population censuses are drawn upon to allow typologies of the islands to be developed. These typologies are utilised to identify similarities and differences between British and Greek islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study earnings and income inequality in Britain over the 25 years prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic. We focus on the middle 90 per cent of the income distribution, within which the gap between top and bottom in 2019–20 was essentially the same, after taxes and transfers, as a quarter‐century earlier. This has led to a narrative of 'stable inequality', which we argue misses important nuances and key lessons from the UK's experience. In particular, there have been periods in which household earnings inequalities were changing considerably but tax and transfer policy was offsetting its effects on income inequality – in different directions at different times, reflecting sharp changes of policy approach. Means‐tested transfers played a crucial role in containing inequality during the 'inclusive growth' period of the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the Great Recession. During the 2010s, the minimum wage emerged as the government's primary policy tool for boosting incomes, but this happened almost simultaneously with cutbacks to means‐tested transfers, meaning that household earnings inequalities fell considerably and yet net income inequality rose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - How does women's labour market disconnection impact on health and well-being? The paper seeks to explain how economic isolation can cause low self esteem for women. Neighbourhood analysis provides the opportunity to explore some of the operational contradictions in public policy and how they are experienced in regeneration areas. Design/methodology/approach - Local dynamics of employment and health are examined in neighbourhoods in two UK cities. The research draws on focus group data involving local women as well as interviews with representatives of statutory and voluntary organisations. Examination of relevant statistical data supports the evidence base on women's well-being in these regeneration areas. Findings - By analysing labour market characteristics and local women's experiences, depression and low esteem in relation to low incomes, barriers to employment and discrimination emerge as particularly important aspects of well-being. The paper suggests that policy makers often fail to make the connections between women's marginalisation from the labour market and the causes of persistently high levels of poor health. Practical implications - Policy implications suggest that public agencies seeking to promote economic sustainability need to consider health issues along with other neighbourhood characteristics as part of a holistic approach to labour market activation. Originality/value - The originality lies in engagement with several areas of public management practice aimed at addressing poverty and improving community well-being. By exploring issues of economic inactivity, employability and ill health among women the findings help inform policies seeking to address problems of worklessness in local neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK's Urban Development Corporation property-led regeneration of the 1980s and 1990s has been widely criticised for its failure to leave an employment legacy for local communities. The trust placed in the jobs from major physical developments 'trickling down' to neighbouring deprived communities has been proved misguided. However , despite these past failings, there still remain regeneration projects based around major physical developments that proceed without an explicit employment legacy aim. To help address this, this paper revisits the lessons from 1980s and 1990s property-led regeneration policy and tests these against 13 local employment interventions linked to major physical developments across England and Scotland. In assessing whether the lessons remain valid, the paper identifies the practical steps taken to maximise the local employment legacy from the 13 major physical developments, which in turn will help to inform future interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine two aspects of the self-employment adjustment of immigrant groups in the UK. First, how the probability of self-employment for males changes with time since migration relative to the native population and second, how the probability of self-employment for males differs between immigrants and the UK-born within ethnic groups. Design/methodology/approach -- Limited dependent variable regression models are estimated using data from the UK Labour Force Survey collected between 2001 and 2005. The results are presented graphically to make clear the differences between ethnic groups. Findings -- The predicted self-employment probability of "Asian" immigrants increases faster than that of natives over the lifecycle while that of "Black" groups declines. Furthermore, the observed lower propensity of UK-born members of certain ethnic groups to be in self-employment is largely explained by differences in human capital. Practical implications -- High rates of self-employment amongst some ethnic groups in the UK are unlikely to be a transitory phenomenon. Originality/value -- While previous work on the UK has examined patterns of self-employment between groups and over time, the paper looks for the first time at how adjustment within groups takes place over the life cycle and across nativity status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free movement has been at the heart of the Brexit debate, with the government grappling between satisfying public and business demands for restrictive and liberal approaches to immigration respectively. In response the government have advocated temporary migration as a potential solution, including an expanded UK-EU Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) modelled on the current T5 YMS on the assumption that YMS migrants undertake low-skilled jobs. Little is known about this visa or the labour market activity of YMS migrants. Drawing on policy analysis alongside survey and interview data from Australian YMS migrants, this paper seeks to bridge some of these knowledge gaps, arguing that an expanded EU YMS will not attract significant EU migrants, and is far from a remedy for free movement ending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, interest in residential mobility in deprived neighbourhoods has grown in both the academic and policy communities in the UK. Members of both communities have argued that the labour market should be a key driver of mobility in deprived neighbourhoods, as they house a disproportionately large number of workless residents, a population group who should be willing to 'get on their bikes' and move to areas with greater employment opportunities. This paper provides an insight into whether they are, by drawing on data gleaned from residents living in six deprived neighbourhoods across the UK. It finds the labour market not to be an important driver of either past or anticipated mobility. Furthermore, for those residents who had 'got on their bikes' and moved relatively long distances to reside in their current neighbourhood, it did not appear to be a significant contributory factor behind their decision to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green A. E. and Orton M. Policy innovation in a fragmented and complex multilevel governance context: worklessness and the City Strategy in Great Britain, Regional Studies. This paper examines whether innovative policy development within fragmented and complex multilevel governance frameworks provides a paradox in that fragmentation and complexity justify, enable, and even require the launch of initiatives to deliver ‘joined-up thinking’, but at the same time place inherent constraints on what can be achieved. A new empirical insight is provided through research into the City Strategy initiative in Great Britain, which aims to tackle local concentrations of worklessness by promoting innovation within a framework of institutional complexity. It is argued that structural reform to provide institutional coherence may be a prerequisite of successful sub-national policy development. Green A. E. et Orton M. Apporter des innovations à la politique dans le contexte d'une gouvernance fragmentée et complexe à plusieurs niveaux: le chômage et la City Strategy en Grande-Bretagne, Regional Studies. Cet article cherche à examiner si, oui ou on, apporter des innovations à la politique dans le contexte d'une gouvernance fragmentée et complexe à plusieurs niveaux fournit un paradoxe dans la mesure où la fragmentation et la complexité justifient, facilitent et même exigent la mise au point d'initiatives afin de mener à bien des ‘politiques cohérentes’, mais imposer à la fois des contraintes inhérentes à ce que l'on pourrait réaliser. A partir de la recherche sur l'initiative menée en Grande-Bretagne, à savoir la City Strategy, qui cherche à aborder le problème des bassins de chômage en encourageant l'innovation dans un contexte de complexité institutionnelle, on fournit un nouvel aperçu. On affirme que la réforme structurelle destinée à fournir une cohérence institutionnelle pourrait s'avérer une condition préalable du développement réussi de la politique sous-nationale. City Strategy?Innovation?Marché du travail?Chômage?Partenariat?Gouvernance sous-nationale Green A. E. und Orton M. Politische Innovation im Kontext einer fragmentierten und komplexen mehrschichtigen Regierungsführung: Arbeitslosigkeit und die City Strategy in Großbritannien, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, ob die Entwicklung innovativer Politik im Rahmen einer fragmentierten und komplexen mehrschichtigen Regierungsführung ein Paradox darstellt, da die Fragmentierung und Komplexität die Einführung von Initiativen für ‘gemeinsame Überlegungen’ rechtfertigen, ermöglichen und sogar nötig machen, aber zugleich hinsichtlich des Machbaren inhärente Grenzen setzen. Neue empirische Einblicke liefert die Erforschung der ‘City-Strategy’-Initiative in Großbritannien, bei der in einem Rahmen der institutionellen Komplexität lokale Konzentrationen von Arbeitslosigkeit durch die Förderung von Innovation bekämpft werden sollen. Wir argumentieren, dass eine Strukturreform zur Gewährleistung institutioneller Kohärenz eine Voraussetzung für die Entwicklung einer erfolgreichen Politik auf subnationaler Ebene darstellen könnte. City Strategy?Innovation?Arbeitsmarkt?Arbeitslosigkeit?Partnerschaftliche Arbeit?Regierungsführung auf subnationaler Ebene Green A. E. y Orton M. Innovación política en un contexto de gobierno fragmentado y complejo de varios niveles: desempleo y la Estrategia Metropolitana en Gran Bretaña, Regional Studies. En este artículo analizamos si el desarrollo de políticas innovadoras en estructuras de gobierno fragmentadas y complejas de varios niveles presenta una paradoja en cuanto a que la fragmentación y la complejidad justifican, permiten e incluso requieren la introducción de iniciativas para coordinar reflexión y acción pero al mismo tiempo imponen limitaciones inherentes. Ofrecemos una nueva perspectiva empírica analizando la iniciativa de la Estrategia Metropolitana en Gran Bretaña cuyo objetivo es luchar contra las concentraciones locales de desempleo fomentando la innovación en una estructura de complejidad institucional. Sostenemos que la reforma estructural para proporcionar coherencia institucional podría ser una condición previa para desarrollar con éxito una política subnacional. Estrategia metropolitana?Innovación?Mercado de trabajo?Desempleo?Trabajo de colaboración?Gobernanza subnacional [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reviews change and continuity in social policy up to summer 2011, contrasting the liberal collectivist approach of New Labour with the reinforced neoliberalism of the coalition government. Given the ongoing uncertainty of economic conditions and the obvious difficulty of forecasting the stability of coalition policy, it is not possible to arrive at a firm conclusion as to the sustainability of the recent change of policy direction. Nevertheless, in a critical assessment of policy in three areas—labour market governance, the life course and the public sector—the paper argues that the UK is witnessing an intensified neoliberal policy emphasis, a redrawing or abolition of minimum standards and failures to meet changing patterns of social needs. While the collectivist elements of New Labour’s social policy approach were contradictory in many respects, the coalition government through a withdrawal of the state and obtuse pronouncements about the big society is seeking to embed in the UK a stronger neoliberal approach to social policy. Flawed assumptions about the scope for traditional families and localised big society programmes to compensate for state withdrawal mean the trajectory of change is not clear-cut; preferences for collectivist and publicly accountable solutions to issues of social policy are unlikely to be easily eroded. However, ongoing policy change during the austerity crisis is already inflicting radical change with adverse impacts upon many groups of society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – This paper aims to draw from a wider study that explores the experiences of Polish migrant workers in the UK's hospitality sector across the UK. It seeks to focus on findings that reveal the profile of Polish migrant workers and the methods used for accessing employment by Poles in the UK hospitality sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on primary data collected through qualitative and quantitative methods, comprising an online survey, interviews and netnography. Findings – The profile of workers emerging from the study indicates that those who work or worked in UK hospitality are predominantly young, female and highly qualified. Migrants work in various hospitality departments and an important pattern shows that they gradually move to jobs in supervisory and front-of-house positions. Informal methods for accessing employment used by highly qualified people suggest that migrants lack knowledge of local institutions and labour practices that would allow them to choose jobs that are more relevant to their qualifications. Research limitations/implications – A principal limitation of this study, as with all internet surveys, is the difficulty in claiming the representativeness of the sample. This limitation is compensated by the use of other research methods. Practical implications – The research identifies three possible explanations for choosing jobs in hospitality. It further suggests practical implications for recruitment and selection. Originality/value – This study aims to answer some of the "unknowns" about the profile of Polish migrants employed in the UK hospitality sector and to yield some insights into migrants' methods for accessing employment. It will therefore address the gap in the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and the human-capital determinants of low-wage mobility for labour market entrants in the UK and Germany. Design/methodology/approach -- Using panel data for the UK (BHPS) and Germany (GSOEP), a competing-risks duration model is applied that allows the study of transitions from low pay to competing destination states: higher pay, self-employment, unemployment and inactivity. Unobserved heterogeneity is tackled by a non-parametric mass-point approach. Findings -- It is found that low pay is only a temporary state for most young job starters. However, there is a small group of job starters that is caught in a trap of low pay, unemployment or inactivity. In the UK, job starters escape from low pay mainly by developing firm-specific skills. In Germany, involvement in formal vocational training and the attainment of apprenticeship qualifications account for low pay exits. Originality/value -- Over the past decades, unemployment and low-wage employment have emerged as major challenges facing young labour market entrants. While most empirical studies focus exclusively on the transition from low pay to high pay, the paper shows that a significant percentage of young entrants are caught in a low-pay-non-employment trap. Moreover, it is shown that, depending on the institutional context, different types of human capital investments can account for a successful low-pay exit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to engage with the theme of activation policies and organisational innovation in the capability perspective, from the viewpoint of active labour market policies in the UK. Design/methodology/approach - The focus of the article is the City Strategy initiative in Great Britain, which encourages institutions to work together to develop solutions to concentrations of worklessness. The article presents findings from a case study of the introduction of the City Strategy in one English sub-region: Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. The empirical investigation is based on analysis of documentary evidence including strategy papers and "grey literature" such as minutes of meetings and internal briefings. In addition, the case study draws on in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with 18 local actors involved in the City Strategy. Findings - The empirical investigation provides selected evidence of successful public action undertaken through the City Strategy. It discusses issues concerning the benefits of partnership working and inter-agency cooperation, but also limits that are reached. Originality/value - The paper identifies elements of the capabilities approach - the idea of situated public action, the importance of local actors, and key concepts of empowerment and voice - as providing a helpful framework for analysis. While the City Strategy represents an interesting example of situated public action to tackle worklessness, it can be argued that what is missing in this instance is what the capabilities approach identifies as key elements of empowerment and voice for local actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the dynamic response of employment, average hours, and real wages to macroeconomic policy shocks in the UK in the period 1970 Q1–2003 Q1. Following a monetary policy shock the adjustment of labour input is primarily along the extensive margin. However, there is also significant adjustment along the intensive margin 1 year after the shock. A government spending shock leads to a fall in employment and hours, whereas real wages rise. This is attributed to the wage bill component of government consumption. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports abound of the detrimental effect of the construction skills crisis on the performance and future development of the UK construction industry. The industry's continued growth in output, coupled with its unpopularity as a career choice, has led to extreme pressure on its labour market capacity. There remains, however, a paucity of empirical research into the nature of its highly complex labour market. In particular, very little attention has been paid to the impacts being felt by the smaller firms who account for the vast majority of the industry's economic output and employment. This paper reports on research that has explored the perspectives of smaller employers with respect to the skills crisis. Using an inductive methodology, this research canvassed the opinions of representatives of small- and medium-sized (SME) firms in order to establish the impact of skills shortages on the operational efficiency of the industry. The paper reveals the complex interplay of factors which have combined to shape the industry's skills crisis in recent years and uncovers the practical implications for firms attempting to operate in increasingly tight labour market conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to highlight the main debates in the field of skill development in a UK context. We begin with an examination of the economic and labour market conditions and their potential implications for skill development. The supply of training and development is examined through a critique of policy developments in both initial and continuing education and training. Original survey data are used in combination with national statistical sources and other survey findings to present a picture of human resource development activity within organisations. In conclusion the paper considers the implications of national policy and economic and labour market conditions for the state, employers and the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional associations play an important role in democratic societies, especially where the interests of the parties being represented fall outside the boundaries of traditional employment arrangements. This paper presents an insider's view of the recent developments, surrounding freelancing and self-employment in the UK and the deliberate strategies undertaken to evolve the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) formed in 1999 into the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) in 2014. PCG was initially formed by a small number of IT contractors seeking to thwart proposed changes to the UK tax regime, specifically IR35. Subsequent developments in freelancing and self-employment arrangements as well as strategic actions taken by PCG (relocating its headquarters; rebranding the organisation; becoming the authoritative voice for the self-employed; providing a responsive range of value-adding services to members and building alliances to establish credible research capability) have positioned IPSE as the leading specialist association for independent professionals, freelancers and the self-employed in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to estimate whether job applicants who have obtained a BSc in economics from 15 UK universities face different labour market prospects. The author examines whether university entry standards and Russell Group membership affect UK economics applicants’ occupational access and entry-level annual salaries when unobserved heterogeneities, such as ability, motivation, family characteristics and networks, are minimized. Design/methodology/approach – The author evaluate the research question by recording the job search processes of 90 British economics applicants from randomly selected universities. The key elements of the approach are as follows: third-year undergraduate students apply for early career jobs that are relevant to their studies. Applications are closely matched in terms of age, ethnicity, experience and other core characteristics. Differential treatment in the access to vacancies and entry-level annual salaries per university applicant are systematically measured. Findings – By observing as much information as a firm does, the estimations suggest that both entry standards and Russell Group membership positively affect applicants’ labour market prospects. Although the firms cannot evaluate by themselves whether graduates from highly reputable universities are more or less capable and motivated than graduates from less reputable universities, it appears that the university attended affects firms’ recruitment policies. Importantly, valuable variables that capture firms’ and jobs’ heterogeneities, such as occupational variation, regions, workplace size, establishment age, and the existence of trade unions and human resources, are also considered and provide new results. Practical implications – Understanding the impact of entry standards and university reputation on students’ labour market outcomes is critical to understanding the role of human capital and screening strategies. In addition, obtaining accurate estimates of the payoff of attending a university with a high entry threshold and reputation is of great importance not only to the parents of prospective students who foot tuition bills but also to the students themselves. Furthermore, universities will be interested in the patterns estimated by this study, which will allow recent UK economists to evaluate the current employment environment. In addition, universities should be keen to know how their own graduates have fared in the labour market compared with graduates of other universities. Originality/value – In the current study, the author attempt to solve the problem of firms’ seeing more information than econometricians by looking at an outcome that is determined before firms see any unobservable characteristics. In the current study, ability, motivation, family characteristics and networks cannot affect applicants’ access to vacancies and entry-level salaries. The current study can estimate the effect of university enrolment on applicants’ occupational access and entry-level salaries, controlling for unobserved characteristics that would themselves affect subsequent outcomes in the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the role of social networks in the labour market, comparing immigrant and native men in the UK. We first explore the determinants of using social networks as a channel for looking for jobs. Our focus does not only lie on the main search method of job search, rather we also use information on whether social networks are used as a method of search among many alternative ones. We subsequently investigate the social network effects on labour market outcomes in terms of job-finding rates. On the basis of the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the period 1992 to 2010, the analysis explores the role of two key aspects of immigrants′ human capital: the education level and years since immigration. We show that immigrants are more likely than White British-born to rely on using social networks as a main search method, although no crucial difference is found when using personal contacts as a method of job search. However, immigrants are as likely as natives to find employment through their social network, yet among both groups, the less educated are more likely to succeed in obtaining jobs through contacts. Finally, the findings reveal no systematic pattern in the effect of years in the UK on job search success among immigrant groups. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expands the existing literature on ethnicity and economic activity in Britain by studying the impact of religion and class. It argues that while the class location of the different South-Asian groups is important in determining their labour market outcomes, it does not operate independently from ethnicity; rather it is highly influenced by ethnicity in the process of determining the labour market participation of these groups. We use data obtained from the 2001 UK Census on Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi men and women aged between twenty and twenty nine. Our findings confirm that class structure of the South-Asian groups is highly ethnicized, in that the ethno-religious background and class are interwoven to the extent that the separation between them is not easy, if not impossible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to examine matching in the graduate labour market (GLM) in order to understand how expansion of higher education is perceived and translated in practice. Design/methodology/approach- The article uses meritocracy and credentialism as flames of reference to explain the role of educational certification in systems of social structuring. Correspondingly, qualifications may function as signals, screens or proxies. Qualitative evidence, drawing on 40 interviews with graduates, employers and educators gives insights on access requirements, recruitment and selection and transfer of knowledge and skills, in three graduate occupations: chartered accountants; active schools co-ordinators; and risk managers. Findings - Findings suggest that expanding graduate numbers has produced altered patterns of closure. Employers use the availability of relevant degrees to limit applications, define jurisdictional boundaries and exclude the less, or inappropriately qualified. Yet correspondence between degree and occupation cannot necessarily be read off by a connected degree. Practical implications - Closer connections between degree and occupation imply labour market segmentation although this requires further evidence in other occupations. Originality/value - Supply-side policy interventions are countered by strategic use of graduates. The paper explores issues of relevance to policymakers, employers, educators and graduates and will be of interest to those in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the research conducted by Parvati Raghuram on migrant women in male-dominated sectors in the labour market in Great Britain. Result shows that there are a great increase in female labour migration such as domestic workers, sex workers and nurses. It reveals that some women migrated to work or study abroad to circumvent career blockages in their home country or to break out of the gender discriminatory practices within education or gender discrimination in employment while some migrated for economic survival or due to familial hardships.

This paper contributes to the literature on directors’ remuneration by reporting the results of interview-based research carried out with executive and non executive directors at two listed UK utilities, and their advisors. The findings on how directors’ pay is set reflect aspects of both economic and social-psychological theories. They show that the level and structure of remuneration were clearly influenced by the market, and highlight the problems of determining a suitable comparator market. Institutional theory influences were identified in the level and structure of the pay, and the way in which trends in practices influenced the protagonists. Furthermore, the way in which the companies’ policies were tailored to their corporate strategies was consistent with contingency theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written about Brexit and migration, but little from the perspective of Bulgarians in the UK. Through an online questionnaire followed by in-depth interviews, we study Bulgarians' 'stay' or 'leave' intentions in light of Brexit and then Covid-19. Combining cross-tabulation and regression analysis of survey data and narrative analysis of interview scripts, we show how migrants' plans are dependent on their position in the labour market and document the experiences of those who have returned. We find that stayers are more likely to be highly skilled and longer-resident in the UK. Most returns are only partially related to Brexit and are often finalized following the impact of Covid-19; family considerations are the main trigger to return. Many returnees are dissatisfied with life in Bulgaria. The article demonstrates that EU migrants' mobility decisions post-Brexit need to be examined in relation to other contingent factors operating at various scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the face of it, it seems obvious that enabling people to develop their skills and improve their education would be an important way of decreasing their chances of experiencing poverty. For individuals, this can often be true, but when one looks at the full distribution of families and households in the context of wider changes in both the labour market and tax and benefit systems, the picture becomes much less straightforward. This paper outlines research to test strategies for developing skills that might be used, and argues that these could worsen levels of poverty and income inequality if some of the interactions and underlying relationships are not better understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of resilience has been captured by a neoliberal discourse displacing responsibility to individuals and regions. This article specifically examines the regional labour market resilience of workers and other regional stakeholders relating to an ongoing economic restructuring process of deindustrialization and redundancies in Anglesey, North West Wales, in the UK. Using 11 years of longitudinal qualitative research, we provide an empirical narrative that applies a labour market resilience framework (challenge, context, responses and outcomes) from a workers' perspective. It connects the empirical findings from this critical case study to broader generalizability for regional studies and regional policy implications. Regarding generalizability to regional studies theory, the labour market resilience of workers is impacted at different but interlinking levels: the global systemic level of neo-liberal capitalism; the national country level of institutional varieties of capitalism (liberal market economies versus coordinated market economies); and regional variations across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst it is acknowledged that refugees are more likely to select into self-employment due to discrimination and labour market exclusion, we know little about how their ventures perform over time. To address this gap, we draw upon qualitative longitudinal evidence gathered in 2010 and 2018 in the UK to explore the outcomes of their ventures and what strategies they have put in place. We argue that the trajectories of refugee-owned businesses are explained by their structural position and the strategies, resources, and business support networks, highlighting that refugee entrepreneurs re-work their condition in a manner that is much more proactive and resilient than suggested by extant portrayals of refugee entrepreneurship. Our analysis sheds new light on the dynamics of refugee business development and encourages a more nuanced theoretical approach to evaluate these enterprises as vehicles for integration against the backdrop of neoliberal Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inequalities between different areas in the United Kingdom (UK) according to health and employment outcomes are well-documented. Yet it is unclear which health indicator is most closely linked to labour market outcomes, and whether associations are restricted to the older population.Methods: We used the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Longitudinal Study (LS) to analyse which measures of health-in-a-place were cross-sectionally associated with three employment outcomes in 2011: not being in paid work, working hours (part-time, full-time), and economic inactivity (unemployed, retired, sick/disabled, other). Seven health indicators from local-authority census and vital records data were chosen to represent the older working age population (self-rated health 50-74y, long-term illness 50-74y, Age-specific mortality rate 50-74y, avoidable mortality, life expectancy at birth and 65 years, disability-free life expectancy at 50 years, and healthy life expectancy at 50 years). An additional two health indicators (life expectancy at birth and infant mortality rate) were included as test indicators to determine if associations were limited to the health of older people in a place. These nine health indicators were then linked with the LS sample aged 16-74y with data on employment outcomes and pertinent demographic and individual health information. Interactions by gender and age category (16-49y vs. 50-74y) were also tested.Findings: For all health-in-a-place measures, LS members aged 16-74 who resided in the tertile of local authorities with the 'unhealthiest' older population, had higher odds of not being in paid work, including all four types of economic inactivity. The strongest associations were seen for the health-in-a-place measures that were self-reported, long-term illness (Odds Ratio 1.60 [95% Confidence Intervals 1.52, 1.67]) and self-rated health (1.60 [1.52, 1.68]). Within each measure, associations were slightly stronger for men than women and for the 16-49y versus 50-74y LS sample. In models adjusted for individual self-rated health and gender and age category interactions, health-in-a-place gradients were apparent across all economic inactivity's. However, these same gradients were only apparent for women in part-time work and men in full-time work.Conclusion: Improving health of older populations may lead to wider economic benefits for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2004, the devolved education systems of England, Scotland and Wales have introduced initiatives to increase contact between employers and young people, particularly aged 14–19, as a supplementary, co-curricular activity within mainstream education. The initiatives are motivated partly to increase wage-earning potential but studies to date have not explicitly tested this hypothesis. Robust evaluations from the USA suggest a potential wage uplift of 6.5–25% but these evaluations do not directly comment on the UK approach, as they focus on highly specialised forms of education with closely integrated employer involvement. A new 2011 survey associates wage returns and school-mediated employer contacts for 169 full-time 19–24-year-old workers on annual salaries within the UK environment – and suggests a link of 4.5% between each additional school-mediated employer contact, such that four employer contacts would produce results in line with the US studies. Contrasting the US and UK studies suggests that any causal link from school-mediated employer contact to wage outcomes is likely to be driven more by increased social capital as witnessed in improved access to non-redundant, trustworthy information and social network development than by the development of either technical or ‘employability’ skills. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Unemployment varies substantially over time and across sub-groups of the labour market. Worker flows among labour-market states act as key determinants of this variation. We examine how the structure of unemployment across groups and its cyclical movements across time are shaped by changes in labour-market flows. Using novel estimates of flow transition rates for the UK over the last 35 years, we decompose unemployment variation into parts accounted for by changes in rates of job loss, job-finding, and flows via non-participation. Close to two-thirds of the volatility of unemployment in the UK over this period can be traced to rises in rates of job loss that accompany recessions. The share of this inflow contribution has been broadly the same in each of the past three recessions. Decreased job-finding rates account for around one-quarter of unemployment cyclicality and the remaining variation can be attributed to flows via non-participation. Digging deeper into the structure of unemployment by gender, age, and education, the flow approach is shown to provide a richer understanding of the unemployment experiences across population sub-groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to explore a feminist economics perspective on business case arguments for gender equality in the UK labour market, where there are significant inequalities between men and women. Policy discourse on gender equality has moved from one which emphasises 'equal opportunities' and notions of fairness and equal treatment to one which focuses on increasing economic efficiency in the wider economy and viewing female employees as a competitive advantage for individual firms. Developments in the policy discourse of gender equality in the labour market have been heavily influenced by mainstream, neoclassical economics. An example of this is the current UK government aim to encourage private sector employers to take action on gender equality voluntarily on the basis of 'business case' arguments. The business case itself has been critiqued by many authors but has yet to be considered from an explicitly feminist economics perspective. Feminist economics is argued to be a more appropriate paradigm for the consideration of gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the active labour market policies or job search policies in the UK known as the New Deal, a major part of the Labour Government's package of welfare-to-work policies. Topics covered include estimates of their overall impact on employment; their limited effectiveness with disadvantaged job-seekers, including increasing numbers of inactive, but not formally unemployed, people; and debates about these policies in relation to skill needs and areas of job decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic minorities fare less well on average in the labour market than their white British counterparts. Experimental research shows that employers discriminate against ethnic minority applicants while hiring, but it is impossible to say from these studies how much of minorities' overall disadvantage – which reflects compositional differences and search behaviour as well as hiring – is due to discrimination. This article connects results from two UK-based field experiments with ethnic penalties estimated from comparable samples of the UK Labour Force Survey and Understanding Society to show the relation between hiring discrimination and labour market penalties, for several ethnic minority groups. Higher hiring discrimination is indeed associated with worse ethnic employment penalties, but similarly discriminated against groups do not necessarily face the same ethnic penalties. We provide a discussion of possible reasons for this variation. Our research points to socio-economic resources and supply-side differences among ethnic groups as plausible explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we describe two experiments measuring the impact of a collection of interventions informed by behavioural sciences to reduce unemployment. In a small-scale pilot study (n = 2,383) run in partnership with a Jobcentre in the UK, we found that small changes to the way jobseekers interacted with employment advisers showed promising effects. Based on these findings, we refined our intervention and tested it in a second, larger trial (n = 88,033) across 12 Jobcentres in the UK. We found that our intervention significantly increased off-flow from benefits. These experiments demonstrate that policies and programmes aimed at reducing unemployment can benefit greatly from a deeper understanding of the behaviours of jobseekers and employment advisers. Further, we suggest that this approach could have positive implications for other areas of public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on anti-immigrant attitudes in the United Kingdom in the past has focused primarily on feelings of prejudice driven by local concentrations of ethnic minorities. The immigration debate, however, has arguably changed since the EU expansions and the economic crisis of the past decade. This paper tests whether public support for immigration restriction is empirically driven by factors such as resource scarcity and economic stagnation, skill supply of native and immigrant workers, and the origin of immigrants from poorer countries within and outside the EU. Survey data from the European Social Survey between 2002 and 2010 are matched with regional level indicators calculated using the UK Labour Force Surveys. Findings suggest that support for immigration restriction is higher in regions where more immigrants are unemployed, but lower in regions where more natives are unemployed for longer than a year. Both the origin and ethnicity of the immigrant population appear to play a role in immigration policy preferences among native respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Where do workers with Higher Education (HE) degrees develop their work skills? Although few would expect these to be developed in HE exclusively, there exists an assumption that the core skills of those working in graduate occupations are predominantly formed at HE. This article examines how within four graduate occupations, employers and workers assess the extent HE is thought to develop the skills and knowledge used within the work process. It draws on occupational case studies on the work of laboratory-based scientists, software engineers, financial analysts and press officers, using interview data with workers, employers and stakeholders. The study shows that structural barriers prevent HE to take a significant part in work skill and knowledge development, but also that HE is not necessarily heavily relied upon for skill formation. More precaution is required when linking the skill demands for graduate work with the skills that are developed or associated at university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of employment trajectories of refugee staff in migrant support and advocacy organisations in the UK, Austria and the Netherlands. In contrast to existing scholarship, it takes refugees' success in finding employment as a starting point. Moreover, it makes an important contribution to extant literature by identifying the unique features of a niche employment sector for refugees: migrant support organisations. I demonstrate that the mainstream explanatory concepts of 'labour market segmentation' and 'ethnic niche' fail to capture refugees' pathway from client to service provider and neglect the sector's status as a mid- to high-skilled but feminised employment sector. I propose instead to understand 'refugeeness' as a form of capital and argue that this capital provides access to employment in migrant support and advocacy organisations, while simultaneously trapping refugees in front-line work with high degrees of hidden, devalued labour and inadequate career mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on elite interviews with UK asylum policymakers, this article entails a detailed elaboration of how policy programmes are produced by particular ways of imagining asylum seeking in an effort to reduce the complexity of the phenomenon and thus devise policy responses to it. The article explores how such processes can lead to the curtailment of the economic rights of asylum seekers with specific reference the UK policy of severely restricting labour market access for asylum seekers. The policy imaginary—the story which is utilized in reducing the complexity of irregular migration in this context—is the idea of the 'economic pull factor'. That is that disingenuous asylum seekers (economic migrants in disguise) are 'pulled' to particular countries by economic opportunities. This construal of what drives irregular migration for asylum is not natural or inevitable, it is the outcome of institutionally embedded ways of viewing the world and Britain's place within it. This discussion brings insights from critical policy studies to bear on asylum policy making, offering new ways of understanding the practices and processes of policy making in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural consumption is often viewed as a form of embodied cultural capital which can be converted into economic rewards (e.g., earnings) because such practices increase the likelihood of moving into more advantaged social positions. However, quantitative evidence supporting this theory remains uncertain because it is often unable to rule out alternative explanations. Cultural consumption appears to influence hiring decisions in some elite firms, in both the US and the UK, but it is unclear whether these processes are applicable to other professional occupations and other labour market processes, such as promotions. We examine these processes using data from Understanding Society, an individual‐level panel survey conducted in the UK, allowing us to explore whether cultural consumption predicts future earnings, upward social mobility and promotions. People who consume a larger number of cultural activities are more likely to earn higher wages in the future, to be upwardly socially mobile, and to be promoted. Cultural consumption, then, can function as cultural capital in some labour market settings, potentially contributing to the reproduction of income inequality between generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graduate employability has become a key driver for universities in Australia and the UK. In response to increasing pressure from governments and employer groups, universities have adopted a range of generic skill-based learning outcomes which, when embedded into degree programs, are expected to increase graduate employability and therefore improve graduate employment outcomes. In addition, many universities are now including internships, work placements and international study in their programmes with the aim of enhancing graduate employment prospects. This somewhat instrumental approach to graduate employability does not, however, take into account other critical factors. Drawing on the broader employability literature, this article develops a framework that incorporates six key dimensions - human capital, social capital, individual attributes, individual behaviours, perceived employability and labour market factors - to help explore and explain the concept of graduate employability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 2008 financial crisis, capitalist development in the UK has been marked by both continuity and change. Whilst the Coalition government effectively re-established the UK's ‘finance-led’ growth model, it simultaneously broke with the legitimation strategy which New Labour had advanced in the pre-crisis conjuncture. The Coalition advanced a distinctive ‘two nations’ strategy which sought to secure a limited but durable base of support in a context of fiscal consolidation. This strategy was conditional upon the deep and unprecedented period of real wage decline which took hold in the post-crisis conjuncture. However, the Coalition successfully transformed this potential liability into a political asset, constructing a series of ‘moralised antagonisms’ between wage earners and welfare recipients, on the one hand, and private and public sector workers, on the other. Whilst this strategy secured a limited base of popular support, it also re-embedded a series of structural weaknesses within post-crisis UK capitalism. These imbalances are likely to undermine the stability of the UK’s finance-led growth model in the future and will condition British politics as the country embarks upon the process of leaving of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escalating demands for formal long-term care (LTC) result in the reliance on migrant workers in many developed countries. Within Europe, this is currently framed by progressive European immigration policies favouring inter-European mobility. Using the UK and Norway as case studies, this article has two main aims: (1) to document changes in the contribution of European Union (EU) migrants to the LTC sectors in Western Europe, and (2) to gain further understanding of migrants' decision-processes relating to destination and work choices. The UK and Norway provide examples of two European countries with different immigration histories, welfare regimes, labour market characteristics and cultural values, offering a rich comparison platform. The analysis utilizes national workforce datasets and data obtained from migrants working in the LTC sector in the UK and Norway ( n = 248) and other stakeholders ( n = 136). The analysis establishes a significant increase in the contribution of EU migrants (particularly from Eastern Europe) to the LTC sector in both the UK and Norway despite their different welfare regimes. The findings also highlight how migrant care workers develop rational decision-processes influenced by subjective perspectives of investments and returns within a context of wider structural migration barriers. The latter includes welfare and social care policies framing the conditions for migrants' individual actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]