Risk reduction

Losing your job in Britain can be a very expensive business. Low and flat rate benefits leave many workers facing huge income falls if they face a period out of work. This gives them a strong incentive to take a new job quickly – but not necessarily the best fit for their talents. And it discourages people from taking the risk of moving to a new job if they don’t know how it will work out. This is a problem for the worker, given moving jobs is a key way to secure a pay rise, and for all of us, holding back productivity growth that a more dynamic labour market supports.

How big is the problem of low job mobility in Britain, and how does it stunt pay and productivity growth? To what extent does the benefit system help or hinder workers’ ability and willingness to move jobs, and how well does it protect workers’ living standards when they experience unemployment? What would an effective earnings insurance system actually look like? And how much might it cost?

The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights from a new report on how a new earnings insurance system might work, we will hear from leading experts on how that system might impact UK dynamism.

The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.