Abstract

In the UK the employment rate has hit record highs over the last few years and yet the quality of these jobs is called into question, given the rises in in-work poverty, underemployment, and insecure work. Employment no longer means secure, well-paid work. Despite a wealth of evidence around the growth of in-work poverty and poor-quality work, ‘work as a route out of poverty’ has become a mantra of the Conservative government, with UK poverty policy especially focused on ending ‘workless families’. The government has embedded ‘work-first’ approaches to active labour market policy, where employment services are centred on rapid job entry over supporting people into good jobs.

This lecture will draw together findings from two research projects. Firstly, the Underemployment Project, which was a mixed-methods study examining the different dimensions, prevalence, causes, and consequences of underemployment. Secondly, ‘Welfare-to-work at the street-level and in the household’, a PhD study on how Universal Credit’s active labour market policies are realised in practice. By drawing on these different projects, we will explore the lived experience of underemployed workers and challenges for employment services in the UK, to lend further evidence to the limitations of work as a route out of poverty.

Speakers

• Professor Vanessa Beck is Professor in Employment Studies at the University of Bristol’s Business School, and currently working on the ESRC-funded Underemployment Project: “A sociological investigation of underemployment and the lived experiences of underemployed workers" (see https://underemployment.info). She is interested in individuals and groups at the margins of the labour market, including those who are unemployed or underemployed, and who experience multiple and complex barriers to (decent) employment.
• Dr Levana Magnus is a Research Associate at the University of Bristol’s Business School, currently working on the Underemployment Project. Levana recently completed her PhD at the University of Bath, which explored how UK’s active labour market polices are experienced and enacted in public (the Jobcentre) and private (the household) spaces. Her research draws on qualitative approaches to explore the lived experiences of social inequality, welfare reform, and active labour market policy.

This lecture will be introduced by Professor David Gordon, Director of the Bristol Poverty Institute, who will also chair a Q&A after the speakers’ presentations.

Additional information

The Bristol Poverty Institute (BPI) is a Research Institute at the University of Bristol dedicated to multi-disciplinary research on the causes, effects, and measurement of poverty around the world to inform effective policy and practice. The BPI works in partnership with a wide range of organisations across the globe, from local community groups to national governments, united by the common goal of SDG1: To reduce poverty in all its forms everywhere. 

Doors will open at 14:15, and presentations will commence at 14:30. Details of the specific room will be provided upon registration.

For any queries, including building accessibility, please contact the BPI team via bristol-poverty-institute@bristol.ac.uk.

Please be aware that the organisers plan to take photographs during the event, which we will share online (including our Twitter/X feeds, websites and/or blogs). If you are uncomfortable with this, please notify a member of the BPI team on the day and we will endeavour to try and avoid including you in any photographs. Due to the nature of the event we cannot guarantee you won’t be in any images, but we will try and avoid taking photos where you are clearly visible.