200,000 jobs were created last year. Only 3 per cent were full-time

PasturesNew

Desperate job hunters are increasingly being told: It’s part-time or nothing.

An astonishing 97 per cent of posts created since the economy came out of recession are of limited hours.

This means only 6,000 of the 200,000 jobs to have come up in a year pay a full-time wage.

The worrying findings, by a respected think tank, raise the spectre of a sluggish recovery with legions of workers having to accept a so-called ‘McJob’ to make ends meet.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1352333/Part-time-work-Of-200k-jobs-created-year-3-time.html

Shakethedisease

Yes, it's definately one of the 'elephants in the room' when the coalition is talking about the private sector taking up the slack and bigging up 'job vacancies'. The majority of jobs around are part-time or agency work, mostly on temporary contracts.

The temporary contracts, never get turned into permanent ones.. they just make you take a '2 week holiday' after a period of time, then take you back on on another years temporary contract, ad finitum. Been there, wore the t-shirt in various factory jobs.. but it wasn't so prevalent or mainstream 'acceptable' 15 years ago. And the job I had about 6 years back as a check-out girl.. the contract was temporary for 8 hours at the weekend, but I got another 12-hours 'overtime' every week without fail, more on busy periods and bank holidays. I was there for 2 and a half years. I can only imagine it's much worse now.

I'm no huge fan of the unions, but this sort of thing ? No sick pay, no holiday pay, no working rights.. is taking us back employment wise in the UK about 100 years. Hey, but at least we might be competitive eh !!

Oh, and no-one gets mortgages or credit based on temporary/part-time contracts either. Like I said my working contract was for 8 hours a week my last job, despite the hours I worked. So bad news in that dept as well.

vivatifosi

Not great news but under these circumstances people need to think more laterally. I have five jobs - what Charles Handy calls a "Portfolio Worker". Working on several part time assignments gives me variety, a bit more certainty (if I lose one job I still have other income streams to fall back on) and had absolutely no problem with my mortgage.

Times are changing, you can either get on with it and adapt to the situation or let the economy suck your get up and go out of you. It isn't a lifestyle that's suitable for everyone - not straightforward for a student straight out of school for example because they won't have enough sellable skills - but it is a feasible way forward for some.

AD9898_2

Nothing much shocks me these days, as I'm aware that the golden age of this particular part of humanity is slipping away. However these figures, if true are pretty staggering.

This is what a lot of people fail to understand, when things change they can change very quickly. It is believed that a way of life that has lasted nearly seven decades, cannot, will not change. It will, and when it does it will be faster than many people believe is possible.

drc

That's ok. All the full time workers will pay through their tax for tax credits to make up the shortfall in part-time workers pay. Companies know this, so it's win win for them to only hire part-time, keep wages down etc.

lemonjelly

Naomi Kleins No Logo book has some great stuff in it about the immense cost savings for employers of these kinda schemes.

I feel dirty thanking a post with a Daily Mail link...

PasturesNew

lemonjelly wrote: »

I feel dirty thanking a post with a Daily Mail link...

Feeling dirty will get your day off to a good start.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

drc wrote: »

That's ok. All the full time workers will pay through their tax for tax credits to make up the shortfall in part-time workers pay. Companies know this, so it's win win for them to only hire part-time, keep wages down etc.

Very sad but very true.


Companies also save per head on part time workers because of the reduced NI costs.

Every penny counts.

lemonjelly

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Very sad but very true.


Companies also save per head on part time workers because of the reduced NI costs.

Every penny counts.

And pension, sick pay, holiday pay, maternity and so on...

Conrad

Shakethedisease wrote: »

I'm no huge fan of the unions, but this sort of thing ? No sick pay, no holiday pay, no working rights.. is taking us back employment wise in the UK about 100 years.

I am owner of a small biz and from my conversations with other business owners, the regulatory burden is THE reason we use part time and temporary staff. Union spokes people often bang on about the goodness of enhanced protections and rights but they are an alien breed to us.

In the end it comes down to this; Life is short and hassle ridden. I have enough worries without adding to them. I worry about being sued and have to balance this risk with my own childrens need for a secure future so I am not prepared to take on FT staff if it means one day I might be in the dock and fined a huge amount. For the record I am a very fair person and don't for example ever monitor peoples hours, I take thinbgs on trust, but I'm here to make money, period, I'm not some social services enterprise.

IWhen I worked at a big corp I had a couple of colleagues who sued and won, and yet they were utterly !!!!less hopeless individuals. One even said to me before the claim that he was 'tearing the @rse out of the job' by which he mean't doing as little as he possibly could for the pay.

Jowo_2

Such a shame that the culture is now for part-time work, because many employers want to save costs and some employees want a life-work balance, both know that the taxpayer will pick up the slack in the form of tax credits. This isn't going to get us out of the hole whereby the UK pays out more in benefits than it receives in income tax because the country will have a larger tax credit bill and lesser tax paying employers/employees...