Employment & HR in 2020 – The Equality Agenda

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In many ways the pandemic has exposed the enduring inequalities in UK society. The poorer sections of our society have been more exposed to the worst effects of the virus than more affluent people.

Blue collar and less well- paid employees are more likely to have been in jobs where they have had to continue to attend their workplaces during the pandemic, exposing themselves more to the virus. Their white collar and professional/managerial counterparts have been more likely to have been working from home.

Additionally, the less well-paid members of the workforce, who may live in a constant state of financial instability, have been less able to afford to self-isolate on statutory sick pay, compared to their white- collar compatriots, who may have been able to access occupational sick-pay and may already have been on a sound financial footing.

An irony of the pandemic was the way that society began to reappraise the value of jobs in our society. During 2020, post workers, supermarket workers, delivery van drivers, and refuge collection employees were not considered key workers, but kept a largely home-bound community going.

Health and social care and other public service employees, who had endured pay freezes for so long, were suddenly being clapped by the public every Thursday night.

Will 2020 lead to a permanent reappraisal of key jobs in our society and the value assigned to them?