Charities & Campaign Groups

Polling Low Paid Workers in Low Income Households – Survation for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation

For the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Survation interviewed 5,064 low income employees via online panel across the United Kingdom. All respondents were either part-time or full-time employees and lived in households earning below the Minimum Income Standard (MIS).

There were two broad aims to this polling. The first was to illuminate employer-provided policies and benefits – who receives these policies and which are most important to low income employees? The second aim was to take a broader look at low income employees’ experiences at work.

The report on the findings is available here.

Full tables containing every question put and all demographic and work sector cross-breaks are available here (part one) and here (part two).

Key Findings:

  • 70% of low income employees rate in-work training highly on a scale of importance (between 7 and 10 on a scale of 0-10) but nearly a fifth (19%) do not receive any such training.
  • 62% of low income employees rate flexible working as highly important (between 7 and 10) while four in ten say their employer does not offer flexible working.
  • Part-time workers are less likely to have an employer that provides each of the benefits we presented to respondents, with the exception of flexible working.
  • 31% of low income employees who work overtime are not paid for it.
  • 45% of low income employees say there are no opportunities for promotion with their current employer.
  • Less than 1 in 3 of low income employees always have enough money to cover household living costs.
  • Around two thirds (66%) of low income employees are either satisfied or very satisfied with their relationship with their supervisor, line manager or boss.
  • The majority (87%) of low income employees say they either have full or moderate control over how they perform their everyday tasks at work.
  • 41% of low income employees went to work the last time they felt unwell.

A detailed report is available here. Part one of the tables is available here. Part two of the tables is available here.

For more information please contact Katy Owen on 0203 142 7642 or katy.owen@survation.com.


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