Most shiftworkers get less than a week’s notice of work schedule, research finds | Economic news

Most shift workers receive less than a week’s notice of their working hours, new figures suggest.

Research by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF) found the problem to be most acute in London.

A survey of 2,000 adults showed that 37% of all UK workers with full or part-time jobs were given less than a week’s notice of their shift or work habits.

Among those surveyed whose jobs involved flexible hours or shift work, the proportion rose to 62%.

The figures suggest that 12% of shift workers, or 7% of all adults, had less than 24 hours of notice.

Notice periods of less than a week were particularly common in London, affecting 48% of all workers, followed by Scotland (35%), southern England excluding London (34%) and northern England (33%).

Another survey of 2,000 adults by the LWF found that among those working full time and being paid below its definition of a ‘real living wage’ – £ 10.85 an hour in London and 9 , £ 50 elsewhere in the UK – 55% had less than a week’s notice and 15% less than 24 hours.

Low-paid full-time workers from black, Asian and minority backgrounds have also been disproportionately affected, as have workers with children, according to the figures.

Laura Gardiner, Director of LWF, said: “Without clear notification of timely work schedules, millions of workers have had to make impossible choices about child care, transportation and other important aspects. of family life.

“Low-paid workers have been hit particularly hard during the pandemic, with millions of people struggling to plan their lives due to the double whammy of evolving restrictions on economic activity and insufficient notice of working hours. work on the part of employers. “

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “No one should have their shift canceled without proper notice and compensation.

“And it’s not …