Title page 1

Contents 3

ABOUT THIS REPORT 4

ABOUT JRF / INSIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE 5

ABOUT GPAG 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7

INTRODUCTION 9

RESEARCH FINDINGS: A DEEP DIVE INTO EMPLOYMENT 14

1. PEOPLE DESCRIBE A VERY CHALLENGING EMPLOYMENT ENVIRONMENT 15

1.1. Redundancies are said to be common 15

1.2. Job seekers complain about a very challenging job market 18

2. SOME ARE TURNING TO INSECURE WORK TO MAKE ENDS MEET 21

2.1. Motives for moving into insecure work 21

2.2. Insecure work negatively affects people's finances, wellbeing, and family lives 24

2.3. Allegations of dubious employment practices 25

3. FAMILIES AND COUPLES SAY THEY ARE PARTICULARLY AFFECTED BY EMPLOYMENT INSECURITY 27

4. DISABLED PEOPLE AND THOSE WITH HEALTH ISSUES SAY THEY FACE ADDITIONAL HARDSHIP 28

4.1. Disability, ill-health and unemployment 30

4.2. Health, self-employment and insecure work 31

5. THERE ARE FEARS ABOUT A LACK OF A FINANCIAL SAFETY NET 34

6. PEOPLE DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO ACCESSING WELFARE 37

6.1. Difficulties accessing welfare while unemployed 37

6.2. Challenges accessing welfare while self-employed or in insecure work 40

7. SOME ARE RAISING CHALLENGES NAVIGATING TAXES 44

7.1. Difficulties with tax and redundancy payments for unemployed people 44

7.2. Confusion when navigating taxes for non-employees 45

8. POLICY IMPLICATIONS 47

8.1. Key challenges identified 47

8.2. Upcoming policy changes 50

8.3. Specific policy interventions 51

CONCLUSION 53

APPENDIX 54

Figures 58

FIGURE 1. MENTIONS OF BENEFITS 58

FIGURE 2. MENTIONS OF PUBLIC FIGURES 59

FIGURE 3. MENTIONS OF ORGANISATIONS 59

Charts 13

CHART 1. OVERALL VOLUME OF POSTS OVER TIME 13

CHART 2. MAIN THEME COUNTS 55

CHART 3. FREQUENCY OF MAIN THEMES OVER TIME 56