1. Supporting low-paid Londoners to
progress in work
Tony Wilson
Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion
tony.wilson@cesi.org.uk
@tonywilsoncesi

2. The challenge (1)
Unprecedented collapse in wages – London and UK
Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings
-5.0%
-4.0%
-3.0%
-2.0%
-1.0%
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Annual change in median hourly earnings, 2012 constant prices
UK London (residents)

3. The challenge (2)
For first time, most adults in poverty in working households
Source: Households Below Average Income
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12
Share of those in relative poverty by economic status
One or more adults in work No adults in work

4. The challenge (2)
For first time, most adults in poverty in working households
Source: Households Below Average Income
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12
Share of those in relative poverty by economic status
One or more adults in work No adults in work

5. The challenge (3)
Big rise in number in involuntary part-time or temp work
Source: Labour Force Survey
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
2002JAN
2002APR
2002JUL
2002OCT
2003JAN
2003APR
2003JUL
2003OCT
2004JAN
2004APR
2004JUL
2004OCT
2005JAN
2005APR
2005JUL
2005OCT
2006JAN
2006APR
2006JUL
2006OCT
2007JAN
2007APR
2007JUL
2007OCT
2008JAN
2008APR
2008JUL
2008OCT
2009JAN
2009APR
2009JUL
2009OCT
2010JAN
2010APR
2010JUL
2010OCT
2011JAN
2011APR
2011JUL
2011OCT
2012JAN
2012APR
2012JUL
2012OCT
2013JAN
2013APR
Number in part-time or temp work because cannot find full-time job

6. So overall...
 Headline economic recovering masks challenges:
– Falling earnings
– Stagnating living standards
– Increasing working poverty
– Increasing job insecurity
 Ensuring policy and practice supports retention and
progression is more important than ever

7. Key findings – low pay
 21% of London workers (625,000 people) paid below LLW
 Low pay is becoming more prevalent and entrenched:
Change in employee numbers and median hourly pay for occupations with
median hourly pay below LLW, London, 2006–11
Bar staff
Waiters &
waitresses
Cleaners &
domestics
Sales & retail
assistants
Retail cashiers &
check-out
operators
Labourers (process
& plant)
Chefs & cooks
Market research
interviewers
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
-10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
Changeinemployeenumbers
Change in median hourly pay
National median
change in pay
Rising jobs
Falling pay
Rising jobs
Rising pay
Falling jobs
Rising pay
Falling jobs
Falling pay

8. Some groups more likely than
others to be low paid
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Overall 50-64 year
olds
Females Disabled
people
BAME groups Lone parents 16-24 year
olds
No
qualifications
Proportion in work earning below Living Wage (London)

9. Also need to look at
persistence...
 571,000 Londoners ‘stuck’
in low pay for +1 year,
5.4 million people across
the UK
 164,000 Londoners at risk
of cycling between
work and low pay, 1.2
million people nationally –
especially young people
and those with no
qualifications
Snapshot of people’s status in the labour market, London and UK, Apr
2012–Mar 2013
912,000 6,913,000
203,000 1,432,000
111,000 733,000
54,000 506,000
571,000 5,406,000
2,358,000 17,635,000
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
London UK
Economically inactive
Unemployed, not worked within past year
Unemployed, having been employed within past year
In employment, earning below living wage, moved from unemployment within past year
In employment for more than one year, earning below living wage
In employment, earning living wage or above
'At risk of cycling'

10. Figure 3.8: Proportion of low-paid people whose annual hourly wage
growth is less than the national median, London and UK
29%
36% 37%
28%
32%
30%
32%
33%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
2006-07 2008-09 2010-11 mid-2011-
mid-2013
London UK
Many of the low paid
progress more slowly
 Wage progression more likely for those starting in low
pay (median hourly wage growth of 10% annually)
 But around on third
of low- paid workers
don’t see wage
progression:
 Changing jobs, and receiving on-the-job training, both
seem to matter

11. Poor progression for different
groups:
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Overall Females 16-24 year olds BAME groups Disabled people Lone parents People with no
qualifications
Proportion of low paid with hourly wage growth below median
London UK

12. Views from the front
line
 A number of the unemployed people and low-paid workers
we spoke to did not aspire to progress, and were satisfied
with current (or previous) jobs
 Others felt that the industries they worked in did not
present progression opportunities
 Salary considered the most important benefit of
progression, alongside job satisfaction, confidence and
job security:
Focus group participants’ prioritisation of positive aspects of progression

13. What may work?
We looked at four case studies:
 RCT Homes – the transition into work
– Focus on soft skills through ‘Can Do Toolkit’
– ‘Progress Tree’ to support progression
 Renovo – staying in work
– Work coaches and ‘Workfriend’ – multiple channels, personalised
 pwc – retention and progression
– Employer ownership pilot
– Organisational support, mentoring, focus on SMEs
 Stafforce – use of career ladders
– Building qualification frameworks into own workforce
development (‘The Academy’)
 Also reviewed range of evidence from UK and internationally

14. All suggests two key factors in
our control:
The individual
 Effective case
management
 Training support
 Financial incentives
The employer
 Management and support
systems
 Staff culture and
behaviour
 Company factors

15. Which means...
 Supporting people to stick and then stay in work
by getting the job match right, personalising
support, and supporting people through the
transition to work
 Supporting people to progress in work by
personalising support to the individual’s needs
(including job-related training and financial
incentives)
 Providing the right (business to business)
support to employers to grow their workforce
and their business

16. In practice:
 Targeting:
– Identifying those most at risk – particularly lowest qualified, caring
responsibilities, many young people, poor work histories, certain
occupations and sectors...
 Joining up:
– Some opportunity with JCP London, but most of ‘target’ group not on
DWP benefits
– Engaging through LEPs, employer networks, local contacts
– Joining up across skills, employment, employer engagement
 Case management led:
– Employee – confidence, motivation, networks, goals, skills
– Employer – HR, recruitment and retention, leadership, management
 Additional support:
– Training – scope to use FE loans?
– Brokerage – finding a new job?
– Incentives to progress – how??

17. Questions for discussion
Does this ring true for you?
What do you think works?
What are the key barriers to going further
or doing more?
What don’t we know?
How do we take this further?

18. Supporting low-paid Londoners to
progress in work
Tony Wilson
Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion
tony.wilson@cesi.org.uk
@tonywilsoncesi