Abstract

Executive Summary. Background and Methods: This project (2020-2024) is the first to study the nature and extent of women’s multiple low-paid employment (MLPE), and to estimate the rate of MLPE, in the UK. It examines the relationships between MLPE, caring responsibilities, health and well-being using a complementary mixed methods study of women in MLPE. The quantitative study included the analysis of three large-scale UK-representative survey datasets: the Family Resources Survey, the Labour Force Survey and Understanding Society. For the qualitative study, 105 women in the West of Scotland who self-defined as being in MLPE participated in an in-depth interview. Project Aims: (1) To provide an overview of women engaged in MLPE in the UK over the past three decades, through secondary analysis of national survey data across time; (2) To investigate the lived experiences of women in MLPE; (3) to give voice to women experiencing MLPE and to the organisations supporting them and provide opportunities to raise the profile of MLPE as an important and growing phenomenon. Defining Multiple Low-Paid Employment (MLPE): we adopted two definitions of MLPE For the analysis of national data, we define an individual as being in multiple lowpaid employment if they have more than one job (including self-employment) and their total earnings are equal to or less than two-thirds of the UK median weekly earnings for the year in which they were surveyed. We define the rate of MLPE as the proportion of working adults (separately for women and men) who are in MLPE. For the qualitative study, women self-defined as being in MLPE if they worked more than one job and considered that they were not paid sufficiently for their efforts or not paid what they thought the work was worth across their jobs, taking into account not only wages but also job (in)security, hours and patterns of work, and considering their household incomes, resources and outgoings. The Prevalence of MLPE: Each year from 2007 onwards around 3% of working women have been in multiple low paid employment (MLPE). In 2019 this amounted to 425,000 women across the UK. However, nearly one-in-five women (18%) have at least one spell of MLPE over the period of a decade. Who is Involved in MLPE: Compared with all working women, more women who are separated, divorced or widowed, more informal carers, and fewer women from ethnic minorities are in MLPE. Women were more likely to be involved in MLPE if they had children of school age and less likely if they had children aged under five years old. More than two-in-five women in MLPE are aged 46 and over. In contrast, there is notable under-representation in MLPE of women aged 26-35. Almost half of the women involved in MLPE (47%) are degree educated.