Universal Credit and employers: exploring the demand side of UK active labour market policy
by Dr Calum Carson, Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre
The findings of the Universal Credit and Employers research project were launched in Manchester last week, exploring what employers know about Universal Credit and how it impacts on them, and how Jobcentres and other employment services can work more effectively with employers. The research also touches upon a number of other important issues, including how both employers and policymakers can better promote the greater adoption of Decent Working standards both within Greater Manchester and beyond, and how individual organisations can modify their own practices to better financially protect those members of their workforce supported in part by Universal Credit.
Drawing on 124 interviews with employers and wider stakeholders, this is the first major independent research project to explore employers’ views and experiences of this important policy area. And as the cost-of-living crisis deepens and the need to support people more effectively into (and to progress in) work becomes more complex, it is important to address the critical omission of employers’ voices in this debate and demonstrate how valuable their insights are.
The full report can be found here, and do please contact project lead Dr Katy Jones if you have any more questions about the research. Thank you too to all of the many organisations across Greater Manchester who have helped support this project in some way: it is greatly appreciated, and the project could not have succeeded without you.
