Insecure families and low-paying labour markets : comments on the British experience

Dean, Hartley and Shah, Ambreen (2002) Insecure families and low-paying labour markets : comments on the British experience. Journal of Social Policy, 31 (1). pp. 61-80. ISSN 0047-2794

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Abstract

There has been a raft of policy changes in the UK that are intended to help low-income families engage with the labour market. Drawing in part upon the findings of a small-scale qualitative study of the experiences of low-income working families, this article infers that the secular trend to working parenthood may, as matters stand, be experienced rather differently by secure middle-class families than by poor families. It may be that the former will benefit from policies to improve access to formal childcare, career breaks and time off when needed. The latter are more likely to remain dependent on informal childcare from other family members or friends and receive minimal concessions granted by reluctant employers. While benefits such as working families tax credit will help to secure the material needs of low-income working families, low-paid employment will remain no less precarious and it is possible that the insecurity experienced by low-income working families will increase.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://uk.cambridge.org/journals/jsp
Additional Information:	Copyright © 2002 Cambridge University Press. LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website.
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Date Deposited:	23 Jun 2006
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2024 21:35
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/339

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