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Systemic Support for a Region's Nonstandard Workers
UK regions face labour market challenges; economic inactivity, helping people on benefits into work, shortage of NHS and care workers, low productivity. All could be helped by relaunching systemic support for the nonstandard workforce; people who seek employment but not a job.
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. Research for government shows millions dislike realities of today's jobs, they prefer portfolio employment.
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 overturn worker rights. Attempts to curb abuses by these platforms are barely impacting.
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 getting individuals into a job. People with complex lives, including employees pushed into unstable hours by new scheduling systems, must turn to gig work apps or sessions in the shadow economy for their ad hoc hours. It is a tragic waste of each person's multifaceted potential to contribute to the UK economy.
UK to the US
Britain's government once took a worldwide lead in extending public employment services to citizens outside traditional employment. Office of Deputy Prime Minister, the NHS, and Cabinet Office enabled creation of a sophisticated market platform for all types of hour-by-hour labour. Built around workers' protections, control, stability and progression, it was also funded by 20 councils, and Tesco. But for years it was opposed by DWP.
Eventually, DWP changed tack and "Slivers-of-Time Working" was made a cornerstone of their Universal Credit reforms. Regional launches were wound down as the system was integrated into a benefits regime committed to "Some work is better than none". But the Universal Credit became problematic and radical 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) which is expanding out of childcare to logistics work and other sectors. Bigger launch in Oregon aims to grow workforces in behavorial health and homeless services by attracting people with lived experience of those issues. Unions, employers, educators and public agencies are working on further US launches. Using AI to proactively support workers is a key element of this work. www.BeyondJobs.org
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, its digital badging captures the unique skills/ attributes/ preferences of each person. It incentivises regional eco-systems of partner bodies, fostering diversity and competition in support for these workers.
Why is Autumn 2026 the time to reevaluate hour-by-hour labour markets?
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NEETs: Multiple costly schemes to shoehorn youngsters into jobs are mooted. But when researchers asked 1,000 young labour market entrants "Would you rather go straight to a job OR build your own portfolio of work from multiple sources?", 68% chose a portfolio of experience, networks and skills.
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Disabled employment: There are so many resourceful, ambitious, people with an impairment that varies day-to-day. Others don't want to be segregated in schemes defining them by their condition, they just want a labor market that empowers all sorts of breadwinners needing personalised employment.
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Social care: There's not enough people for the jobs. But flexible working is the main attraction of care. Problem is, worker-driven flexibility is not the reality. With broad hour-by-hour labor markets, care work can be an anchor in portfolios.
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Technical education: Stackable modules, personalized schedules, cross-sector badging, earn-as-you-learn, soft-skill taxonomies, ringfenced labour markets for <16's; all part of a good market for hour-by-hour labour. Incremental blends of studying/work can supplement the old training-then-job paradigm.
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NHS understaffing: A recruitment/retention crisis combines with plans to phase out bank agencies. A little flexing around a job's shift times may be enough to keep some workers. Others need, or just want, fully personalized hours. "Two-way Scheduling" and our other innovations in nonjob employment help.
Systemic support for people who don't fit traditional labour market pigeonholes isn't a single solution to one problem. But it creates new tools, data and support options to address cost-of-living and other challenges.
We are happy to show these distinctive labour markets in action, share learning and talk paths to implementation with any region willing to think beyond traditional jobs and also embrace their residents with complex lives.
For more detailed history, learning, and outcomes of Britain's past support for nonstandard workers, click here. Or sign up for our monthly newsletter.
