Day: March 8, 2023

TUC: Women 7 times more likely than men to be out of work due to caring commitments

New TUC analysis finds more than 1.46 million women are kept out of the labour market because of their caring responsibilities

  • Women in their 30s are hardest hit – one in 10 women in this age group drop out of the jobs market because of pressures of looking after their family 
  • Union body calls for funded childcare and flexible working rights for all to keep women in work and to address the gender pay gap 

Women are around seven times more likely than men to be out of the labour market due to caring commitments, according to a new analysis published by the TUC today (Wednesday). 

The analysis of official statistics – published as the annual TUC women’s conference starts in London today – finds that more than 1.46 million women are unable to work alongside their family commitments, compared to around 230,000 men. 

Women in their 30s hardest hit 

The research shows that women in their 30s are the hardest hit compared to men of the same age. 

One in 10 women in their 30s – more than 450,000 women – is out of the labour market because of caring responsibilities – compared to just one in 100 men in their 30s. 

So, women in their 30s are 10 times more likely than men to be unable to work due to family commitments at home. 

But at every age – from the very start right through to the end of their careers – women are more likely than men to have to drop out of paid work because of caring commitments. 

The TUC says that this illustrates that high-quality childcare that is free at the point of use should be available for all parents from the end of maternity leave to the end of primary school. This would help women stay in their jobs and continue with their careers once they have children. 

The union body also found that women shoulder most of the care for older and disabled relatives too. But the TUC warned that the staffing crisis in social care was making it harder for women to stay in work alongside their caring responsibilities.  

Women and low-paid work 

The new TUC analysis also finds that women are much more likely than men to be working in low-paid jobs – and are far less likely to be in high-paid work. 

Women make up two-thirds (65%) of the 10 lowest-paid occupations in the UK, like jobs in cleaning, catering and care. 

But less than two in five (39%) women are working in the 10 highest-paid occupations, in industries like finance, law and IT. 

Gender pay gap 

The gender pay gap for all employees currently stands at 14.9%, and it widens with age.  

Analysis published last month by the TUC found that this pay gap means that the average woman in paid employment effectively works for free for nearly two months (54 days) of the year, compared to the average man in paid employment. 

The union body says that at current rates of progress, it will take more than 20 years to close the gender pay gap. 

Flexible work 

Millions of people across the UK work flexibly. The TUC says that flexible work helps parents and carers balance their work and caring commitments and stay in their jobs. 

But a survey by the union body found that half of working mums don’t get the flexibility they request at work. 

The TUC says the law needs to be changed to require all jobs to be advertised with the possible flexible working options stated – and to give all workers the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job. 

Normalising and improving flexible working options would also encourage more men to take up these options and share caring responsibilities, says the TUC.

 TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Women shouldn’t have to give up or cut down paid work because they can’t find or afford the right care for their children or older or disabled relatives.  

“Too many women take a financial hit from caring for the rest of their lives – and it is a key driver of the gender pay gap. At the current rate of progress, it will be 20 years before women get pay parity with men. 

“We desperately need funded high-quality childcare for all families, free at the point of use, so women can stay in work once they have kids. 

“Ministers must change the law so that every single job is advertised with the possible flexible options stated, and all workers must have the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job. 

“And ministers must fix the staffing crisis in social care so every family can find and afford the social care they need.”  

Government action needed 

The TUC is calling on ministers to act now to keep women in work, make sure they are paid fairly, and to properly address the gender pay gap. The union body wants the government to: 

  • Introduce funded, high-quality childcare, available to all, free at the point of use. This would begin when paid maternity leave ends and would enable women to stay in work when they have children. 
  • Create greater flexibility in all jobs. There should be a duty on employers to list the possible flexible working options for each job when it is advertised. And all workers should have a day one right to work flexibly – not just the right to ask – unless the employer can properly justify why this is not possible. Workers should have the right to appeal any rejections. And there shouldn’t be a limit on how many times a worker can ask for flexible working arrangements in a single year. 
  • Strengthen gender pay gap reporting:  From 1 April 2017, the government ruled that large companies must publish information about the difference between average male and female earnings. The TUC believes the government must go further and wants employers to be made to carry out equal pay audits, and to produce action plans to close the pay gap in their workplace. The TUC also wants companies that fail to comply with the law to receive instant fines.  
  • Fix the staffing crisis in social care: There are a record 165,000 vacancies across adult social care. The TUC believes this is placing a huge strain on women with caring responsibilities for family members. The TUC says the government must work with unions and employers to tackle widespread insecure work and poverty pay in the sector which are driving high staff turnover rates. 

Ground-breaking new laws to ‘Stop the Boats’

Laws include legal duty on the Home Secretary to remove anyone who enters the UK illegally

Earlier this year the Prime Minister made stopping the boats one of his 5 promises to the British people. The ‘Stop the Boats’ – or Illegal Migration – Bill will fulfil that promise by ending illegal entry as a route to asylum in the UK.

This will remove the incentive for people to risk their lives through these dangerous and unnecessary journeys and pull the rug from under the criminal gangs profiting from this misery once and for all.

People who arrive in the UK illegally will instead be detained and swiftly removed to their home country if safe, or another safe third country, such as Rwanda, where they will be supported to rebuild their lives.

Anyone illegally entering the UK will be prevented from accessing the UK’s world-leading modern slavery support or abusing these laws to block their removal. Any other challenges or human rights claims can also only be heard after removal, remotely. 

By ending illegal immigration as a route to asylum, stopping the boats and taking back control of our borders the Bill will ensure the UK can better support people coming through fair, safe and legal routes.

The UK will always be a compassionate country, as demonstrated by the nation opening its hearts and homes to those from fleeing from Afghanistan and Ukraine, and under this Bill, Parliament will set an annual cap on the number of refugees settled via safe and legal routes, taking into account local authority capacity for housing, public services and the support communities rightly expect.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “The British people rightly expect us to solve this crisis and that’s what myself and the Prime Minister fully intend to do. We must stop the boats.

“It is completely unfair that people who travel through a string of safe countries then come to the UK illegally and abuse our asylum laws to avoid removal.

“It has to stop. By bringing in new laws, I am making it absolutely clear that the only route to the UK is a safe and legal route. If you come here illegally, you won’t be able to claim asylum or build a life here.

“You will not be allowed to stay. You will be returned home if safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. It’s the only way to prevent people risking their lives and paying criminals thousands of pounds to get here.”

The Bill, introduced to Parliament yesterday (7 March 2023), will mean anyone who enters the UK illegally and who has passed through a safe country will be legally required to be removed and the Home Secretary will have the power to enforce it.

Migrants may be detained for 28 days with no recourse for bail or judicial review, and then for as long as there is a reasonable prospect of removal.

In exceptional circumstances if there is a risk that someone would suffer a real risk of serious and irreversible harm when they are relocated to that specific safe third country, they would not be removed until it was safe to do so. Even in these cases you will have a maximum 45 days to remain in the UK before your appeal is exhausted.

The annual number settled via safe and legal routes will be kept under review, and if there is a humanitarian crisis within the world that requires a response, then the UK will step up and offer sanctuary to those in need, as we have done for tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Afghans.

The Bill forms part of the action the UK Government is taking to stop small boat crossings and illegal migration as a whole. This includes:

  • an agreement with Albania that recognises their status as a safe country
  • a new dedicated unit to speed up the processing of Albanian cases – since the announcement in December we have returned over 3000 illegal migrants, including over 500 Albanians
  • ending the legacy backlog of asylum claims by the end of 2023 – we have already doubled decision makers and we will double the number again and we are changing the system to make it more productive
  • reducing the use of hotels, with the government currently spending £6.2 million a day, by moving asylum seekers to cheaper alternative accommodation
  • established the Small Boats Operational Command in December, enabling us from January to protect the resources of our Immigration Enforcement teams – as a direct result of this change, we have been able to significantly increase the numbers of immigration enforcement visits undertaken, deliver a 50% uplift in enforcement visits per month and have seen a corresponding increase in arrests
  • doubling the funding for Operation Invigor, which brings together the NCA, Home Office Intelligence and UK policing to disrupt organised crime groups who are smuggling people from source countries to the beaches of northern France
  • our joint work with France saw nearly 33,000 Channel crossings prevented in 2022, compared to just over 23,000 in 2021 – since the UK-France Joint Intelligence Cell (JIC) was established in July 2020, 59 organised criminal groups involved in small boats crossings
  • clamping down on people smugglers, with over 350 arrests made since the Nationality and Borders Act became law
  • welcoming current collaboration with the French to tackle illegal migration, which includes agreeing further action at the UK/FR Leaders’ Summit

Summary of Bill measures:

  • Duty to make arrangements for removal – the Home Secretary will have a legal duty to remove people who have entered the UK illegally.
  • Detention and bail – strengthening detention powers so people can only apply for bail from the Courts (First-tier Tribunal) after 28 days (although habeus corpus will remain).
  • Unaccompanied children – minors who come to the UK illegally will not be removed to a safe third country until adulthood, except in limited circumstances.
  • Entry, citizenship and settlement – people who come to the UK illegally will be prevented from settling in the country and will face a permanent ban from returning.
  • Asylum – people who come here illegally will have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible and considered in a safe third country.
  • Modern slavery – modern slavery referrals for those who come to the UK illegally will be disqualified under public order grounds under the terms of the international anti-trafficking treaty, ECAT.
  • Legal proceedings – limiting the circumstances in which legal challenges will prevent someone from being removed from the UK. Most legal challenges will be considered when someone has been successfully removed from the UK.
  • Expanding the list of countries that are considered safe in law – this will make it unquestionably clear when someone doesn’t need our protection because they are obviously not at risk of persecution in their home country.
  • Annual number of people using safe and legal routes – committing to resettling a specific number of refugees in the UK every year.

Today we are introducing new legislation to keep my promise to you – to stop the boats.

My policy is very simple, it is this country—and your government—who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.  

The first step is understanding the nature—and scale—of what we are dealing with.

The number of people entering the UK illegally in small boats has more than quadrupled in the last two years.

Those illegally crossing the Channel are not directly fleeing a war-torn country… or persecution… or an imminent threat to life.

They have travelled through safe, European countries. 

They are paying people smugglers huge sums to make this dangerous, and sometimes tragic, journey.

The reason that criminal gangs continue to bring small boats over here is because they know that our system can be exploited… 

….that once here…illegal migrants can make a multitude of asylum, modern slavery and spurious human rights claims to frustrate their removal.

And the risk remains that those individuals just disappear into the black economy.

That is the reality we must deal with…

And with 100 million people displaced around the world…

….if we do not deal with it now, the situation will just get worse and worse. 

People must know that if they come here illegally it will result in their detention and swift removal.

Once this happens – and they know it will happen – they will not come, and the boats will stop. 

That is why today we are introducing legislation to make clear that if you come here illegally you can’t claim asylum…

…you can’t benefit from our modern slavery protections…

….you can’t make spurious human rights claims

…and you can’t stay. 

We will detain those who come here illegally and then remove them in weeks, either to their own country if it is safe to do so, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. 

And once you are removed, you will be banned—as you are in America and Australia—from ever re-entering our country. 

This is how we will break the business model of the people smugglers; this is how we will take back control of our borders. 

Now, this Bill provides the legal framework needed to deliver this in a way that no other legislation has done before.

This is tough but it is necessary and it is fair.

This legislation will be retrospective.

If you come on a small boat today, the measures in this bill will apply to you.

And this is just part of what we are doing.

I’ve always been clear this is a complex problem that can’t be solved overnight and will require us to use every tool at our disposal.

That’s why I’ve already secured the largest ever small boats deal with France.

And patrols on French beaches are already up 40 per cent.

I also promised progress on enforcement and we’ve increased raids on illegal working by 50 per cent. 

I’ve also negotiated a new deal with Albania, which accounted for a third of all small boats arrivals.

And that’s already delivering. We’ve returned 500 illegal migrants to Albania and we are seeing far fewer come as a result.

This shows that there is nothing inevitable about illegal migration.

Deterrence works, and with will and determination, the government can get on top of it—and we will.

Now, this will always be a compassionate and generous country.

It is something that we’re all rightly proud of.

Just look at how we have welcomed Ukrainians, Syrians from refugee camps, and embraced Hong Kongers fleeing the Chinese clampdown.

But the current situation is neither moral nor sustainable. It cannot go on.

It’s completely unfair on the British people…

….who have opened their homes to genuine refugees…

….but are now having to spend nearly £6 million a day to put up illegal migrants in hotels.  

It’s unfair on the people who have come to this country legally to see others skipping the queue.  

And it’s devastatingly unfair on those who most need our help but can’t get it as our asylum system is being overwhelmed by those travelling illegally across the Channel.

If we can’t stop the boats, our ability to help genuine refugees in future will be constrained.

Full control of our borders will allow us to decide who to help, and to provide safe and legal routes for those most in need.

I understand there will be debate about the toughness of these measures… all I can say is that we have tried it every other way… and it has not worked.

So I say again: my policy is very simple, it is this country—and your government—who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.  

And I will do whatever is necessary to achieve that.