Low-Wage Work in United Kingdom

by Lloyd, Caroline; Mason, Geoff; Mayhew, Ken

• ISBN13: 9780871545633
• ISBN10: 0871545632
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-01
• Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Summary

Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom explains why the current level of low-paying work remains one of the highest in Europe. The authors argue that the failure to deal with low pay reflects a policy approach which stresses reducing poverty, but also centers on the importance of moving people off benefits and into work, even at low wages. The UK government has introduced a version of the U.S. welfare to work policies and continues to stress the importance of a highly flexible and competitive labor market. A central policy theme has been that education and training can empower people to both enter work and to move into better paying jobs. Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom illustrates the way that the interactions between government policies, labor market institutions, and the economy have ensured that low pay remains a persistent problem within the United Kingdom.

Table of Contents

About the Authors	p. vii
Introduction: The United Kingdom Story	p. 1
Low-Paid Work in the United Kingdom: An Overview	p. 15
Low Pay, Labor Market Institutions, and Job Quality in the United Kingdom	p. 41
"Just Like the Elves in Harry Potter": Room Attendants in United Kingdom Hotels	p. 96
Business Strategies, Work Organization, and Low Pay in United Kingdom Retailing	p. 131
Improving the Position of Low-Wage Workers Through New Coordinating Institutions: The Case of Public Hospitals	p. 168
Supply Chain Pressures and Migrant Workers: Deteriorating Job Quality in the United Kingdom Food-Processing Industry	p. 211
"It's Just the Nature of the Job at the End of the Day": Pay and Job Quality in United Kingdom Mass-Market Call Centers	p. 247
Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom: Employment Practices, Institutional Effects, and Policy Responses	p. 284
Index	p. 327
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