Getting this right will require a great deal of thought: The Taylor review of modern working practices

Press Releases

11 Jul 2017

Andrea Broughton, a principal research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies, comments on today’s publication of 'Good work: the Taylor review of modern working practices':

'The flexibility offered by the gig economy is something that should be nurtured and indeed may enable some people to work who would otherwise struggle to be active in the labour market. However, a balance does need to be struck between encouraging flexibility and ensuring that workers are not exploited in terms of lack of control over work scheduling, pay, working conditions and working hours.

'Getting this right will require a great deal of thought on the part of the government, given the diversity of gig economy workers, but also their diverse motivations for working in this way and different life situations. There is a world of difference between someone who is working in the gig economy to earn a little extra money, and someone who depends on this work for their main income. Thought also needs to be given to how to protect the most vulnerable workers, whose employers are not likely to abide by codes of conduct or non-regulatory guidance.'

ENDS

About the Institute for Employment Studies

The Institute for Employment Studies is a leading independent, not-for-profit centre for research and evidence-based consultancy on employment, the labour market, and HR policy and practice.

The Institute was commissioned this year by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to conduct qualitative research to gather views from individuals who have found work in the gig economy. The aim of the project is to gain an understanding of the motivations and experiences of people working in the gig economy in order to inform policy development. The study has entailed 150 telephone and face-to-face interviews, making it one of the largest qualitative research projects on the gig economy to date. Additionally, The Centre for Research on Self-Employment has commissioned IES to carry out research that will help to identify different segments of the self-employed workforce in the UK and quantify how many exist in each category. The results of both studies will be published later in the year.

Matthew Taylor will be speaking at the Institute’s summer event on Thursday 20th July 2017, on the changing meaning of 'good work' in the modern labour market.

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About Andrea Broughton

Andrea has over 20 years' experience of research and writing in the areas of employment relations and industrial relations, specialising in international comparative research. Specific areas of interest include workplace-level industrial relations, European social dialogue, employee involvement, restructuring and change management, health and wellbeing issues and work-life balance issues. Andrea is leading the IES project for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy gathering views from individuals working in the gig economy.

Interviews and further information

Please contact: Karen Patient: 01273 763 460 or karen.patient@employment-studies.co.uk