Job retention and advancement in the UK: a developing agenda

Abstract

A principal objective of UK labour market policy is to help unemployed people (and other ‘inactive’ groups) to move into work. However, policy is placing an increased emphasis on helping people to remain in work, and to advance in the labour market. This is a reflection of increasing concerns about the frequent moves between inactivity and employment made by a significant proportion of unemployed people, the damage that this does to individuals’ employment prospects, and the financial and non-financial costs to society as a whole. A number of labour market programmes are being developed, both in the UK and overseas, which have an emphasis on providing post-employment support for (re)entrants to work, typically through a discretionary case management approach. The evaluations of such programmes remain inconclusive, but suggest that adopting a flexible, individual and long-term approach to the provision of in-work support is required. This article highlights that there is still much to learn about the extent of, and interplay between, the individual and structural factors affecting job retention and advancement.