Since being launched in July 2021, the work and employment expert group ReWAGE has been incredibly productive – our experts have produced 40 evidence papers and policy briefings and responded to 8 major consultations.

The group’s outputs have been covered in the national, regional and specialist media, and its co-chairs and experts have presented at national conferences and forums, and to government ministers at a wide range of meetings, including several all-party parliamentary groups.

ReWAGE was created by Professor Chris Warhurst of the Institute for Employment Research at Warwick University, and Professor Irena Grugulis of the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change at Leeds University.

They had realised that there was no independent, single and collected point of expertise available to advise the government on tackling the Covid pandemic’s impact on work and employment, and carried out scoping work that concluded that it would be welcomed.

The result was ReWAGE, which brings together a group of 35 senior experts from universities and research organisations from across the UK who each have their own specialist knowledge of work and employment, and with significant experience of working constructively with government. Over the two years that it has been operational the group’s remit has expanded to tackle such topics as the future of the minimum wage, disability workforce reporting, skills training for adults and addressing work-related health problems.

Co-chair of ReWAGE Professor Irena Grugulis (University of Leeds) says:

“ReWAGE has been even more successful than we hoped. In addition to creating an effective forum to gather expertise in support of the development of work and employment policy, it has also brought together people who might not have otherwise shared ideas, generating projects that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. We’ve also successfully convened meetings of government departments, the devolved nations and the Mayoral Combined Authorities in fruitful discussions that have will have positive ramifications beyond the life of ReWAGE.”

See the graphic below for more details of ReWAGE’s achievements.

Thanks to our Expert Group, our Advisory Group and our Steering Group for their support, and to our core sponsors - the Economic and Social Research Council, the Institute for Employment Research at Warwick University and the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change at Leeds University.