Despite the sustained success of the British labour market, workers
feel increasingly insecure. This is partly due to the increased
financial consequences of losing employment today. At present, neither
the state nor the private market provides an adequate response to this.
This report argues that government, in cooperation with the private
sector, can and should provide a safety net for the vulnerable middle
class to counteract this trend.
The authors sketch out a way to do this by significantly increasing
access to insurance against the risks of unemployment among those
facing the greatest financial fragility, in part through auto-enrolment
in such insurance. Since this approach has been shown to significantly
increase take-up of financial products elsewhere, it is expected to be
successful in unemployment insurance too.
Some might argue that growing insecurity is an inevitable consequence
of economic flexibility and globalisation; allowing insecurity to grow
unchecked risks undermining popular support for both. The key,
therefore, is to find a model that maintains this flexibility, while
providing greater security for workers. This paper aims to
provide a blueprint for just such a model, ending the false choice between flexibility and security.
ISBN Number: 1-904899-58-7
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