Gig workers should be classed as workers rather than self-employed, and exploitative zero-hour contracts should be abolished says new report: Pay and conditions in gig work.

The report, authored by ReWAGE, the independent expert advisory group hosted by Warwick and Leeds Universities, offers a set of recommendations aimed at addressing the challenges faced by gig workers, as well as those in other precarious and insecure working arrangements such as zero-hours contracts.

Gig work is work where an individual uses a digital ‘platform’ provided by a company, accessed via an app or a website, to find and perform short-term jobs, such as Lyft drivers or Deliveroo workers. It is estimated that around half a million people work in the platform economy.

The report, supported by the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, proposes greater clarity around the contractual and legal status of gig workers, saying gig workers should be presumed to be workers of platform companies rather than self-employed. This recommendation aligns with a recent EU Directive on Platform Work.

The Evidence paper, Pay and conditions in gig work is supported by a short Policy Brief. The papers were commissioned and funded by the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust

Already having a high rate of in-work poverty, care workers are now worse off in real terms than they were two years ago and should be given pay parity with equivalent NHS roles, according to new research.

The new report comes in the wake of the government’s proposed Fair Pay Agreement for social care, recently announced in the King’s Speech. The agreement proposes ‘fair pay and conditions, including staff benefits, terms and training, underpinned by rights for trade unions to access workplaces’.

This paper shows that care worker pay has declined relative to other low paid occupations over the last 15 years, including positions in retail jobs, which offers higher pay for less responsibility.

These shocking findings come only a few short years since the care sector was thanked and praised by the Government for working with bravery and dignity through the Covid pandemic.

The Evidence paper, Work, Wages and Employment in the Adult Social Care Sector is supported by a short Policy Brief. The papers were commissioned and funded by the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust