Work and labour markets

With the increase in mothers' employment both the government and many employers are promoting flexible working policies to improve work-life 'balance'. This report considers the effects of these changes on the lives of both women and men. It examines three employment sectors in detail - banking, grocery retail and local authorities.

This volume provides an international perspective on parental leave policies in different countries, goes beyond this to examine a range of issues in depth, and aims to stimulate thinking about possible futures and how policy might underpin them.

There is a growing recognition that people over the age of fifty experience discrimination in the labour market. This ground-breaking report provides new evidence that ageism and discrimination are also having devastating effects on the lives of people as young as forty, with a cost to the economy of up to £31 billion per year.

Amid urgent debates around the function of welfare in the post-industrial 21st Century, and how we pay for it, David Byrne and Sally Ruane deploy the concepts and analytical tools of Marxist political economy to better understand recent developments, and the possibilities they present for social change.

This study examines the relationship between poverty and informal work. Exploring the experiences of people in low-paid informal work, it contends that unless government seeks to include the informal economy in its strategies, it will never be able to reach its employment or anti-poverty targets.

Free pdf version available at www.jrf.org.uk

This book casts light on the empirical relationship between labour market deregulation through non-standard contracts and the three main dimensions of worker security: employment, income and social security.

This book is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between social exclusion, poverty and the labour market. It challenges long-standing and dominant myths about ‘the workless’ and ‘the poor’, by exploring close-up the lived realities of life in low-pay, no-pay Britain.

Poverty Propaganda debunks many popular myths and misconceptions about poverty and its prevalence, causes and consequences. In particular, it highlights the role of ‘poverty propaganda’ in sustaining class divides in perpetuating poverty and disadvantage in contemporary Britain.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Engaging with contemporary debates about precarity, unfreedom and socio-legal status, this ground breaking book presents the first evidence of forced labour among displaced migrants who seek refuge in the UK.

This assessment of the prospects for work and retirement at age 65-plus in the UK and US is essential reading for researchers, students and practitioners interested in the late careers and the future of retirement.

This thought-provoking new study by Helena Liu shows how anti-racist feminism can reinvigorate leadership theory and practice, which have long been dominated by imperialist, masculinist and white supremacist agendas. Theoretically rigorous and with examples from around the world, it states the case for a bold reimagining of leadership.

This compact, focused guide is perfect for students and others new to the field of gerontology. Features include further reading for each chapter, a glossary of key terms, and tables that provide easy reference points.