Young women say they need help to escape the trap of insecure work

Young women are urging employers to improve flexibility, provide more notice of shift rotas and cancellations, and invest in training and skills development for workers on zero-hours and fixed-term contracts – as new research from Young Women’s Trust suggests that insecure workers are feeling trapped, disposable, undervalued and unprotected. Young women are one of the groups most exposed to the challenges of insecure work because they’re more likely to enter the industries that use it. They’re also paid less than men in insecure jobs. On top of this, there’s a ‘sticky floor’ effect whereby young women feel trapped and unable to leave – almost 3 in 10 (27 percent) said that they don’t feel confident enough to move out of insecure work when they want or need to. Many also cited the lack of opportunities to develop their skills leaving them feeling ill equipped to find permanent employment.

“At work we should all expect to be protected, paid a fair wage, and treated with respect”, says Claire Reindorp, Chief Executive at Young Women’s Trust. “It’s clear that’s very far from a reality for many young women in insecure work, leaving them with precarious finances and poor mental health. And there’s a ‘sticky floor’ that can leave young women trapped, feeling stuck, powerless and exhausted. The Employment Rights Bill will lead to a ban on exploitative zero hours contracts. Employers can get ahead of this and lead change – where they are using short-term contracts, they can offer a decent notice period for shift cancellations which would allow workers to plan their lives and their budgets. They can also consider training and development opportunities that would help workers on temporary and short hours contracts gain the skills they need to move into more secure work. And all employers can play a role by offering greater flexibility in all jobs –  so that young women with caring responsibilities or disabilities aren’t forced into insecure contracts in the first place.”

Whilst insecure work can be damaging for everyone, the research claims to have found gender disparities that leave young women short changed compared to men in terms of pay, hours available and flexibility:

• Young women in insecure work are working fewer hours than young men – 25 percent worked 8 hours or less per week compared to 15 percent of young men – leaving them less well off.
• They’re also paid less per hour: 31 percent of young women reported being paid up to £10 an hour, compared to 22 percent of young men. This is likely to be because the sectors women are more likely to work in are lower paid e.g. retail and hospitality.
• On the other extreme, young women are more at risk of burnout and exhaustion with over half of young women (54 percent) working more hours than they were contracted to compared to 48 percent of young men.

When asked why they turned to insecure work in the first place, young women said:

• They needed to find work quickly (30 percent).
• It was to support their financial needs (27 percent).
• There was nothing else available (23 percent).

Young women also reported unfair, and in the case of some employers, even illegal practices, such as:

• Over half (54 percent) had worked more hours than contracted/agreed to
• 43 percent had been employed without a contract.
• Almost half (50 percent) had not received pay when off sick.
• 43 percent had been paid late or at inconsistent times.
• 44 percent had worked free trial shift(s).
• Many had been given little notice of changes to shifts including cancellations (less than a week’s notice: 65 percent, less than 24 hours’ notice: 49 percent).
• 39 percent had been paid cash in hand.
• A third (33 percent) had been paid less than minimum wage.

These practices often go unchallenged as young women said that they either don’t know their rights at work at all (48 percent), don’t know where to find the information about their rights (45 percent), and even when they did, they didn’t feel comfortable raising issues in their workplace (47 percent). Young women also said that they didn’t want to challenge these issues because they didn’t want to lose out on shifts. Some who tried to report issues couldn’t navigate the pathways to do so, or found that nothing happened as a result.

The impact on young women’s lives is striking with 2 in 5 (40 percent) saying that their mental health got worse whilst in insecure work. For some young women it also negatively impacted their confidence (27 percent), their self belief (27 percent) and their wellbeing at work (32 percent).

In light of these findings, employers are being urged to:

• Improve flexibility across all workplaces. Disabled and neurodivergent young women, and those with caring responsibilities, said that they were forced into insecure work because of a lack of secure options which offer the flexibility they need.
• Improve training, skills development and inclusion for insecure and temporary workers. A lack of training opportunities only traps young women in insecure work further.
• Provide at least four weeks’ notice of rotas and compensation for shift cancellations within this time.
• Be transparent about the nature of contracts and realistic opportunities for progression. More clarity at the outset about the terms of the contract and future prospects is needed. It was common for young women to have been led to believe a short-term contract may become permanent, only for this never to materialise.

In addition, the government needs to make sure that plans to strengthen workers’ rights with a ban on exploitative zero hours contracts – as outlined in the Employment Rights Bill – are accompanied by the resources to properly promote and enforce these rights.