conditions of employment

The relationship between psychosocial work factors, employee health and organisational production: a systematic review

Systematic review to establish the research evidence of the relationship between the psychosocial work environment and employee health and its impact on organisational production. Searches in several databases were performed in September 2009. Previously known studies were also included.

Minimum wage: maximum impact

Paper that steps back from the current annual debate about the appropriate but small rise in the value of the minimum wage to ask a bolder question: are there more radical reforms of the minimum wage that could raise living standards in the years ahead? It discusses what happens in labour markets where the minimum wage is much higher than it is in Britain today. It also asks whether a smarter design could do more to benefit the groups that are most in need of higher wages?

The missing million: the potential for female employment to raise living standards in low to middle income Britain

The report is structured in three sections. Section 1 sets out data on long-term trends in UK female employment and on how the UK measures up internationally. Section 2 drills down into the international data to better diagnose the UK’s specific performance issues on female employment with a particular focus on maternal employment. Section 3 describes what countries with better female employment rates do differently from the UK in terms of public spending on family policy. The note concludes by sketching out some general and high-level strategic implications.

Dual practice regulatory mechanisms in the health sector : a systematic review of approaches and implementation

The International Centre for Systematic Reviews on Human Resources for Health, Makerere University School of Public Health, working with the EPPI-Centre in London, conducted a systematic review to assess the different regulatory mechanisms employed to deal with dual practice and the effect of these mechanisms on health worker performance. The review aimed at synthesizing the dual practice regulatory mechanisms proposed and implemented worldwide and to document factors key to their implementation, either barriers or facilitators and some of their reported outcomes.

Youth Tracker, Issue 4

This is the fourth edition of Youth Tracker, ippr's quarterly newsletter looking at how Britain’s young people are faring in the recession and recovery, and what can be done to support them. August brings the prospect of exam results and young people having to decide on their next steps in life. This edition of Youth Tracker focuses on how to put these young people at the forefront of education and skills policy.

Employment and mental health: assessing the economic impact and the case for intervention

The importance of employment and its links with mental health are summarised and the European policy context described. The report then asks what the consequences of poor mental health for economic activity are, if a trend in productivity losses over time can be seen and what we know about employment rates for people with mental health problems. Barriers to employment, the economic case for helping such people remain in the workforce, assessing the cost effectiveness of interventions to this end, legislative and policy actions, and the way forward are discussed.

Police and racism: What has been achieved 10 years after the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report?

Ten years on from the publication of the Lawrence Inquiry report, the Equality and Human Rights Commission wanted to consider what progress the police service has made in terms of race equality. This report deals with four main themes: employment, training, retention and promotion; stop and search; the national DNA database; race hate crimes. The findings are discussed under the aforementioned headings and a number of case studies are presented.