Three in four young people are not being protected by employment rights

A new Trades Union Congress (TUC) report published on Thursday 30 November reveals that nearly three-quarters (72%) of young people aged 16 to 24 miss out on key employment rights at work.

While some workplace rights for employees begin from day one of employment, others only kick in after two years of continuous service – including protection from unfair dismissal and the right to statutory redundancy pay.

The new report – published at the end of TUC’s Young Workers’ Month – shows that employees aged 16 to 24 are far less likely to have built up two years of continuous service in the same job, so are much more likely to miss out on key protections.

That means nearly three in four young employees (72%) don’t qualify for vital employment rights, compared to around one in four (27%) of working people aged 25 and over.

Zero-hours contracts

Young people are also much more likely to be on zero-hours contracts – which means they are ‘workers’ (without employee status) who miss out on essential rights – like the right to request flexible working or the right to return to the same job after maternity, adoption, paternity or shared parental leave.

Zero-hours contracts are characterised by low pay and variable hours. As a result, many zero-hours contract workers also miss out on key social security rights such as full maternity pay and paternity pay.

One in seven (13%) 16 to 24-year-olds in employment are employed on a zero-hours contract – meaning they are around 5.5 times more likely to be on these contracts than workers aged 25 and over (2.4%).

Women are hit harder – one in six (16%) young women in the jobs market are employed on a zero-hours contract.

And young Black and Brown workers are 12 times more likely to be on a zero-hours contract than white workers aged 35 to 49 (15.9% compared to 1.4%).

The report highlights that just under half a million young workers (474,000) are employed on a zero-hours contract.

This means that despite only being around one in nine (11%) of the total workforce, 16 to 24-year-olds make up two in five (40%) of the 1.18 million workers employed on zero-hours contracts.

Unemployment and low pay

Workers aged 16 to 24 also face a higher unemployment rate than older workers. This is because people aged 16-24 are twice as likely to have been unemployed for six months to a year (22%) compared to those over 25 (11%).

Overall, the unemployment rate for under 25s (12.3%) is nearly three times as high as that for all workers (4.2%). One in eight young people (12.3%) are without a job despite actively seeking work and being available to start work.

And young workers are also paid less. Median hourly pay for 16 to 17-year-olds is £8 per hour and £10.90 for 18 to 21-year-olds, compared to £15.83 for all employees.

This is partly because the National Living Wage (currently £10.42 per hour) does not kick in until an employee is 23.

The government has accepted the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to increase the National Living Wage to £11.44 from April 2024, expand it to 21 and 22-year-olds, lift the rate to £8.60 for 18 to 20-year-olds, and to £6.40 for 16 to 17-year-olds and apprentices.

These changes follow pressure from unions and low-pay campaigners. The TUC says that this is a positive step – but that the top rate must be made available to all working people, regardless of age.

Even with these current announcements a 20-year-old doing the same minimum wage job as a 23-year-old will still be earning £2.93 per hour (28%) less.

Young people: ‘trapped in insecure, low-paid work’

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:

Every worker should be protected from being sacked for no reason – but three in four young workers can be fired at will by bad bosses. Just imagine working hard in a job for nearly two years – only to be let go with no recourse.

Too many young workers are trapped in insecure work, on lower pay and without the workplace rights most of us take for granted.

That’s not right.

Featured image via drazenphoto – Envato Elements