ReWAGE is fortunate in having some of the UK’s foremost thinkers on its Expert Group, drawn from leading universities and research organisations across the UK. Between them they have a huge breadth of knowledge, covering such subjects as the labour market, job quality, employment relations and the changing nature of work.

This week we are turning the spotlight onto ReWAGE expert Jo McBride who is Professor of Work and Employment Relations at Durham University Business School.

Background:

Jo joined Durham University Business School in June 2018 from Newcastle University Business School where she had been Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations, Work and Employment. Prior to that Jo worked at Bradford University School of Management and Northumbria University.

Her main areas of academic interest are Industrial Relations and the Sociology of Work. She was President of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (2016-2019) which was founded in 1950 and is one of the largest academic associations in the United Kingdom aimed at promoting the study of employment relations across relevant academic disciplines.

Area of expertise:

A major focus of Jo’s current work is on the issue of the causes and effects of precarious employment, the consequences of low paid work and multiple employment and the social perceptions of the value of jobs.

Why Jo became a ReWAGE expert:

Being invited to join ReWAGE was a great honour. It has provided the opportunity to work with key academics in a broader range of areas in the field of work and employment. This has meant that together we have been able to focus on key areas of concern relating to the experience of work for many individuals and influence policy makers and practitioners.

What achievement makes Jo most proud:

I am most proud of being able to draw attention to the voices of people in vulnerable employment situations. In particular, those in low-paid precarious employment, many of whom need to take on multiple employment to survive resulting in in-work poverty. If we did not conduct research and disseminate our findings as widely as possible, these experiences and voices might otherwise not be heard. 

Current projects

Jo is currently involved in a variety of projects with others continuing with a focus on the issues of people in low paid precarious employment and struggling to survive, even more so during a cost-of-living crisis. She is also working with several practitioners on varying projects such as barriers to employment for those with protected characteristics and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on those working and in poverty in the North East.

Recent publications

· Chapter in Handbook of Research Methods on the Quality of Working Lives

· Low-paid multiple employment and zero hours work

· In-work poverty and multiple employment in the UK

· Low-paid multiple employment and work-life articulation

· The Experience of Being a Statistic of ‘In-Work Poverty’ in the UK

ReWAGE’s Expert Group is uniquely placed to offer the government informed practical advice and policy recommendations to support its strategic response to the recovery and renewal of work and employment in the UK as it tackles the impact of