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Working Families’ Response to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Report on UK Poverty 2019/20

Published: 7 Feb 2020

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s annual report on poverty in the UK, launched on 7 February, highlights that workers need “more security, better training and opportunities to progress, particularly in part-time jobs” to combat in-work poverty [1].

Responding to the report, Working Families Chief Executive Jane van Zyl said:

“For too many families in the UK, work is far from a guaranteed route out of poverty. We need urgent labour market reform to ensure that families can thrive. This report confirms our own findings that parents are trapped working below their skill level and earning power because they cannot find the flexibility that their family needs.

To remedy this, we need to unlock the supply of quality flexible jobs in the UK. The government has committed to considering legislation to make flexible recruitment the default, but switched-on employers shouldn’t wait for the government to bring in this much-needed change. Employers should be thinking now about the flexibility that they can offer, enabling parents to give their best at work and at home.”

[1] UK Poverty 2019-20, Joseph Rowntree Foundation