Ethnic minority workers are more likely to be employed in the “most precarious jobs”, research reveals today.
Some 45% of all ethnic minority employees are given less than a week’s notice of their shifts, compared with 28% of white workers, according to the Living Wage Foundation study.
They are more likely to have hours cancelled unexpectedly - with 38% saying this happens against 24% of white shift workers.
And 27% of ethnic minority staff in insecure jobs were forced to pile up debts or take out loans because of short notice of working hours or cancelled shifts, compared with 19% of white workers.
The study - from four surveys of 8,000 adults interviewed by Survation and seen exclusively with the Mirror – analyses shift notice periods and cancellations.
Experts say workers from ethnic minority backgrounds are “more exposed to unstable working patterns” because 71% are employed in shift work - such as cleaners, security guards or NHS porters - compared with 53% of white staff.
The research highlights the “extreme precariousness of jobs worked disproportionately by minority ethnic workers amidst a deepening cost-of-living crisis, often for the lowest wages in the UK”, according to the Foundation.
Alongside its Real Living Wage accreditation scheme, it runs a Living Hours project where employers commit to “providing stable and secure Living Hours” for staff.
LWF director Katherine Chapman warned irregular work and last-minute cancellations of shifts make “planning a life and a budget impossible”.
She said: “This report shows the reality facing a disproportionate number of minority ethnic workers in the UK – one of precarious work amid an uncertain economy.
“Low pay and insecure work are deeply intertwined and minority ethnic workers and families are disproportionately impacted.
“Employers who commit to providing Living Hours alongside Real Living Wage are not only supporting their staff through a cost-of-living crisis, they take a step on a much bigger journey - towards racial equality in the UK labour market."
Matthew Sheehan, managing director of Enabled Living, an accredited Living Hours Employer, said: “Times are tougher for most people than ever before.
“Here at Enabled Living we want to ensure our workers, and their families, can count on a reliable income that meets, as a minimum, their everyday needs.
“We know that our commitment to both a minimum hourly rate and a minimum hours promise means that our workers can budget for the future.”
