Systemic Support for Britain's Nonstandard Workers
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The UK faces key labour market challenges; shortage of NHS and care workers, helping people on benefit into work, need for builders, and economic inactivity. Each could be tackled by re-adopting a systemic approach to the nonstandard workforce; people who seek employment but not a job.
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About a third of adults now need work to fit around day-to-day uncertainties. Those can involve ever-changing childcare arrangements, unpredictable commitments as a carer, personal medical issues, fluctuating partial-employment, or fluid studying.
Some people aren't emotionally ready for full-time, but could handle incremental steps into work; maybe a few hours today, a few more later in the week, perhaps half a day next week, and so on.
Official UK data on these diverse work-seekers is inadequate. The most inclusive research has been in comparable US regions where Gallup polling found 36% of adults reliant on at least some ad-hoc earnings. McKinsey independently also assessed the figure at 36%. In Britain, the TUC describes irregular platform work as "spiralling".
An Overlooked Workforce
Some coverage of our work
A Sleeping Giant
Current labour market infrastructure for lower-income seekers of nonstandard work is horrible. "Gig work" apps, led by Uber, need to repay venture capitalists for the huge price subsidies used to reach dominance of their sector. So, they cut pay, mislead work-seekers, secrete data, and can retain 30% or more of workers' earnings. These companies invest heavily to inhibit worker rights.
But there is a sleeping giant for people needing fluid work. Government routinely provides supportive labour market infrastructure. Britain's 600+ Jobcentres are alternatives to commercial staffing agencies. DWP offers an all-sectors job-matching platform to compete with for-profits like Indeed or Monster. These public services ensure fairness, inclusion, opportunity, open data, and local alignment.
But it all remains predicated on regular availability for employment. People with complex lives are deployed through "gig work" apps, aggressive workforce scheduling systems, or word-of-mouth contacts (often in the illegal shadow economy). It is a tragic waste of each person's multifaceted potential to contribute to the UK economy.
UK to the US
In the past, Britain's government took a worldwide lead in extending public employment services to people outside normal employment. Office of Deputy Prime Minister, the NHS, and Cabinet Office enabled creation of a sophisticated hourly labour market platform built around protections, control, and progression for people needing personalized work. It was launched by 20 councils, and Tesco, but opposed for years by DWP.
Eventually, DWP changed tack and "Slivers-of-Time Working" was made a cornerstone of their Universal Credit reform. Regional launches were wound down as the system was integrated into a benefits regime that believed "Some Work is Always Better than None". But the Universal Credit became problematic and extra components like ours were shelved.
At this point it was realized no other country had developed such a supportive platform. The technology was put in our nonprofit for open-sourcing and has now been further developed with funding from national philanthropies in the US. We won US Conference of Mayors' prestigious prize for the best job or economic development initiative in America.
Public agencies in Los Angeles County have launched the platform (branded GoodFlexi) with an initial focus on responsive care for families with a disabled child. Bigger launch in Oregon scheduled for 2025 aims to grow workforces in behavorial health and homeless services by attracting people with lived experience. Unions, employers, educators and public agencies are working on further US launches. www.BeyondJobs.com
New Alignment
​GoodFlexi has generated millions in wages for people on the labour market fringes on each side of the Atlantic. Under local control and branding in each region, it captures uniquely granular data, shaping upskilling opportunities and cost-effective interventions. Its comprehensive digital badging captures the unique skills/ attributes/ preferences/ aspirations of each person while tools to incentivize regional eco-systems of partner bodies foster diversity and competition in support for nonstandard workers.
Much has been learned about the unique leverage public agencies can bring to initiate systemic change and on-going employment for nonstandard workers. All this tech. and learning is waiting to be re-Anglicized.
Alignment with current regional and national priorities include:
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DWP: A shift from welfare to work. Many people on benefits can do some work on their own terms, but may not yet be ready to start a job.
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NHS: Going beyond top-down shifts to also allow "two-way scheduling" with vetted workers who won't fit off-the-shelf rotas could ease a crisis.
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Carers: Now allowed to earn up to £196 p.w. on benefits. Partial employment is incentivized, it could be progressive not survival work.
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Housing: More builders are needed, But many bricklayers, scaffolders, framers, and others work project-by-project, not steady hours.
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Young People: £240m targeted at labour market strugglers. Again, trialling work types on your terms can beat "You start a job on Monday".
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Local Control: Devolution of employment services frees far-sighted regional leaders to go beyond jobs and support all their work-seekers.
Trying to deliver these aims - plus faster growth - while supporting only job-seekers lucky enough to have regular availability for work is odd. We, the London nonprofit that emerged from the UK's lead in full-spectrum services, are developing a path back to serving Britain. We call our project UKFlexi.
