WorkerTech Newsletter – July 2024

We’re now a whole [counts on fingers] 25 days into the new Government in the UK, and there has been a flurry of announcements being broadcast from Westminster (as well as Leeds and Barnsley). So this month’s newsletter explores what we’ve heard so far – and what might come next.

If you’re working on a tech-for-good idea, there are also some great funders open for applications right now – there are links at the end of the email.

Best wishes,
Louise Marston
Director of Ventures

What have we learned so far about the new Government’s Good Work plans?

There are three key areas that have come into focus between the manifesto, the King’s Speech and further announcements: employment rights, skills and learning, and the links between work and health.
Bear in mind that there is a difference between announcing the intention to do things, and finding the time and money to do them, including the time needed for consultations, reviews and forming advisory groups. But there is certainly an ambition to make a wide range of changes from the announcements set out so far.

Employment rights

The King’s Speech included details of the Employment Rights Bill, which is planned to introduce legislation for many of the proposals that were part of the manifesto under the Plan to Make Work Pay. This will include a right to a contract that reflects the hours that those on zero-hours contracts regularly work, as well as giving improved rights on sick pay, parental leave and unfair dismissal from the start of employment. There is also a plan to establish a single enforcement body to strengthen the enforcement of workplace rights (something that has was also planned by previous governments) and the establishment of a Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector. Taken together, if implemented, this package of reforms would be the most ambitious since the introduction of the minimum wage. But lots of the detail is yet to be filled in.

For more on these issues, you can read ‘Putting good work on the table‘ and ‘Firm Foundations‘ as well as ‘Low Pay Britain 2023′, and the recent election briefing ‘Job Done’. Do also follow my colleagues Hannah Slaughter and Nye Cominetti for regular commentary and insight on these announcements.

Skills and Learning

Also in the King’s Speech, was the establishment of a new body, Skills England, which takes on the functions of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. Launched in a speech on 22nd July, the priority here seems to be convening between employers, training providers and local mayors. It is planned to be established ‘in phases over the next 9 to 12 months’. Watch out for activity beyond Westminster here: lots of skills issues are (or will be) devolved, both to the various nations and to Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority.

Post-16 skills are an important area to focus on – nearly a third of young people aged 18 in the UK receive no education or training – many more than in France or Germany. And we have a shortage of workers with Level 4 and 5 qualifications that sit between A-levels or T-levels and university courses. Read more on this in the Economy 2030 papers ‘Learning to grow‘, ‘Applying the Robbins Principle to Further Education‘ and ‘Train in vain‘.

Work and Health

New work, health and skills plans for the economically inactive, are planned, led by Mayors and local areas. This was announced by Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, and more details will come in a future White Paper. This is a really important area, with a rising proportion of our working-age population reporting a disability. This increase in disability is most pronounced among young people, and this is having knock-on impacts on youth employment. It was announced at the launch of the Pathways to Work report in Barnsley, which sets out a planned place-based proof-of-concept programme.

Read more on this in our series on young people and ill health, including ‘We’ve only just begun‘ and ‘A U-shaped legacy‘ and follow Louise Murphy and Charlie McCurdy.

Latest insights from the Resolution Foundation

Post-election, and over the summer, the research output is a bit less frenetic here. Which is the perfect time to catch up on our Election Briefings for a preview of the challenges to come. You can find the full list of our Election Briefings here.

Labour market statistics

The labour markets team have been keeping busy reviewing the latest employment data. As you can see from this thread, real wages are growing at their fastest rate in over a decade (excluding the pandemic). This strong pay growth is good news for workers – but might be concerning for the Bank of England, who are making their next decision about interest rates later in the week.
Read more in this reaction: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/press-releases/uk-wage-growth-still-too-hot-to-handle-for-the-bank-of-england/ 

WorkerTech stories

Amazon workers at their Coventry centre recently voted against union membership (very narrowly). This was a significant vote – as had they won, this would have been the first time Amazon recognised a union in the UK. It’s also significant because the wholesale and retail sector is one of the least unionised, with just one-in-ten workers who are union members. This was covered in our recent Top of the Charts newsletter – which you should definitely subscribe to, if you haven’t already.

The union Prospect have surveyed neurodiverse tech workers about their experiences. They report that just one-in-four employers in the sector have explicit policies to support them, and more than a third have experienced discrimination related to their neurodivergent condition.

Highlights from the Workertech portfolio:

• Earlybird have closed their £600k fundraising round, as well as being selected for ImpactShakers and for the London Mayor’s No Wrong Door Innovation Challenge. Congratulations Claudine!
• Mobilise have launched their app to bring their carer support content and connections to more people.

Get involved

Apply for direct investment from Resolution Ventures. We accept applications from WorkerTech ventures on a rolling basis. Or you can book a slot in our office hours for an initial conversation.

Crisis Venture Studio fund ambitious start-ups and their initial focus is on the property sector, while they’re also exploring solutions around prevention of homelessness, financial inclusion, health and wellbeing as well as employment training. You can apply for funding now.

Daring Capital invest in under-represented founders who have impact-focused businesses. They have a funding syndicate and can offer £50k-£200k in equity investment, and applications are open now