Employment and Working Conditions

Evidence-based strategies about jobs, working conditions, the labour market, access to employment services, work structure, and employee rights.

How to Navigate this Page

Select policy targets and evidence-based strategies that are priorities and achievable within your setting and sector. Align with your mandate, capacity, jurisdictional boundaries, and scope of practice.

Strategies marked with ☔ are important for populations-at-risk.

Entry Point for Action:
Reflects the organization’s or government unit’s sector scope and mandate

Policy Target:
Relates to the initiative’s focus

Evidence-based Strategies:
Concrete actions to guide initiatives’ design, delivery, and evaluation

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Improve Regulation, Oversight, and Funding of Macro-Economic Systems and Policies

Policy Target: Employment and labour market

Government units develop or revise a regulatory framework to guarantee and enforce human rights, social and labour protections, and benefits to all workers with a particular focus on low-wage, precarious contracts (e.g., parttime work) and populations who are typically overrepresented in these groups (e.g., people with less education, people who experience disability) ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of minimum wage workers
Remuneration trends among low-wage workers (e.g., those working in agricultural sector, cleaning services, or hospitality industry)
Nominal values of minimum wage(s)
Number/percentage of people working in precarious, unsafe work conditions (e.g., disadvantaged groups)
Availability of mechanisms to denounce abusive, exploitative work conditions
Easy access to mechanisms to denounce abusive, exploitative work conditions
Number of enforcement actions over time
Number of regular on-site inspections
Availability of anonymous surveys for workers about working conditions
Availability of anonymized data sharing mechanisms to provide evidence supporting employment stability actions

Government units ensure all workers in public and private sectors have access to pension plans, insurance benefits, and leave provisions. Transparency, accessibility, and regular disclosure of public sector compensation packages support private sector workers in their bargaining negotiations.

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Ratio of private sector workers who are members of a union to that of the public sector
Level of transparency of public sector compensation packages
Trends of non-wage benefits (e.g., coverage) in the private sector
Inequalities in non-wage benefits between public and private sector workers

Policy Target: Childcare and early childhood experiences

Government units address time-related barriers that are not compatible with caregivers’ work schedules (e.g., incentives to offer flexible and nonstandard hour childcare) ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Proportion of childcare providers supplying affordable, high-quality nonstandard hour care
Number/percentage of parents/guardians working nonstandard or unpredictable schedules reporting finding affordable, high-quality childcare services that meet their needs
Average number of (un)paid working hours per week, stratified by sex and gender
Governments remove welfare requirements that may force recipients to accept seasonal or parttime jobs with unreliable hours and low pay in order to continue to receive benefits.

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Simplify Access to Benefits & Services

Policy Target: Contingencies and penalties for social welfare receipt

Government units remove welfare requirements that may force recipients to accept seasonal or parttime jobs with unreliable hours and low pay in order to continue to receive benefits ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of social welfare recipients with insecure or precarious

Government units remove austerity-based penalties for noncompliance, which disproportionally affect the most disadvantaged populations (e.g., single parents, people experiencing disabilities, racialized groups). Government units eliminate strict and unrealistic work for welfare requirements that are evidenced to be counterproductive in supporting transitions into paid labour market (e.g., work requirements in rural and remote communities where there are job shortages) ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of benefits revoked for failure to meet social welfare conditions
Poverty levels among beneficiaries’ dependents (e.g., children of unemployed parents/guardians)
Percentage of beneficiaries’ children who experience a drop in poverty rates
Staff perceptions of the effect of the cessation of obligations on recipients (e.g., stratified by program type)

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Strengthen Employment Security (Income and Benefits)

Policy Target: Employment stability

Government units and a range of stakeholders(e.g., industry and advocacy groups) address changes in the nature of employment (due to gig economy and automation) and employment status (e.g., seasonal work) ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Job stability (e.g., for those with precarious working arrangements)
Number/percentage of workers who secured full-time employment (e.g., stratified by age or socioeconomic status)
Number/percentage of workers who report thriving financially and enjoying economic growth
Number/percentage of workers who are overqualified for their jobs (e.g., stratified by race/ethnicity)

Policies and programs ensure employment conditions and work practices are stable, inclusive, and supportive of wealth generation, health, and overall wellbeing

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Availability of opportunities for promotion and career advancement (e.g., stratified by sex, gender, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity)
Accommodation of breastfeeding employees’ requirements in workplaces
Number/percentage of terminations of employment for failure to perform due to age or disability (i.e., where no legal protections exist)

Policy Target: Income security

Government units and organizations develop strategies to prevent and address the consequences of income volatility associated with economic recessions, declines in stable contractual employment arrangements, increases in unemployment and underemployment rates, and decreases in cash assistance provided through welfare programs ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of existing programs and benefits that expand their target audiences, including population groups with need who were not previously targeted
Availability of new supports and benefits for target groups with high, complex needs
Access to income supports (e.g., among workers in precarious employment and working age people out of the labour force)
Income security (e.g., among workers in precarious employment and working age people out of the labour force)
Self-reported high/low variability of income

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Enhance Quality Education

Policy Target: Education and training

Initiatives address the educational and workforce training needs of people with no certification or degree to increase their employability, chances for securing better jobs with higher wages, and power to negotiate work conditions ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Levels of dependence on supports from government units and organizations
Average program receipt duration
Multiple, complex disadvantages experienced within and across generations
Number/percentage of adults earning their first degree or certification
Number/percentage of adults who previously did not have certification or degree transitioning to higher paying jobs
Number/percentage of adults who earned their first degree or certification and who feel they can request a salary increase
Unemployment rate (e.g., stratified by education)
Employment rate in the informal sector (e.g., stratified by race/ethnicity)

Initiatives provide equitable access to free or low-cost, high-quality education and workforce training. Initiatives seek to improve opportunities for all people – irrespective of their social backgrounds and identities – to secure socially and economically valuable jobs with economic security and a social safety net ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Rate of participation in apprenticeships among eligible people (e.g., stratified by age, sex, and gender)
Rates of part-time and full-time employment (e.g., stratified by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and gender)
Number/percentage of people feeling they can fully participate in civic and social life
Participants’ likelihood of being placed in a job with health insurance benefits

Initiatives adjust their programs to ensure qualifications, skills, and work experience of adults and youth are matched with the changing dynamics of the labour market, its needs and demands ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of staff who feel their programs adjust content and types of education and training whenever needed to better respond to the future knowledge and skills demands of a diversified workforce
Number/percentage of affordable or no-cost education and training courses, career planning tools, and other resources that quickly adapt to the latest changes in labour market
Qualification mismatch (e.g., stratified by immigration status)

Initiatives address the intergenerational transmission of the disadvantage cycle faced by working age groups who are the most exposed to chronic unemployment, such as people experiencing disability, racialized peoples, and older workers ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Generational complex disadvantage
Intergenerational transmission of welfare-income
Number/percentage of adults who grew up in low-income households who report working in higher paying jobs than their parents
Average income of the children when adults compared with income of their parents (e.g., for people with disadvantaged backgrounds)

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Address Stigma & Discrimination (e.g., systemic racism and ableism)

Policy Target: Access to Financial Services and Products

Organizational culture embraces diversity and inclusion to better respond to and support people’s needs and values. Initiatives help staff have a clear understanding of the multiple, complex effects of discrimination disadvantaged people face due to their social identities and backgrounds (e.g., senior Black women with hearing impairment). Workplaces strengthen their diversity and inclusiveness strategies, including in hiring and promotion processes ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Availability of periodic staff training programs on practices about how to be respectful to diversity and inclusive in their day-to-day activities.
Number/percentage of staff feeling well-prepared to deal with socioculturally diverse clients
Number/percentage of initiatives with promotion of diversity and inclusiveness as part of the organizations’ goals
Percentage of applicants for open positions from diverse social backgrounds
Ratio of female and non-binary candidates who were selected for a job interview to that of male candidates
Trends in promotions awarded to people from diverse and non-diverse social backgrounds
Inequalities in retention levels (e.g., based on sex, gender, race/ethnicity, and age)

Policy Target: Employment and Labour Protection

Initiatives ensure easy access to labour market opportunities for well-paid, secure, regulated employment as well as safe and healthy working conditions for all people, including newcomers ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Overrepresentation of disadvantaged groups in low-wage service jobs (e.g., workers from Black or Indigenous communities, workers experiencing visible and invisible disabilities, immigrants)
Gender parity in senior and middle management positions per country (e.g., in private sector)
Women’s earnings as percentage of men’s (e.g., stratified by occupation categories)

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Develop around People’s Everyday Realities

Policy Target: Back-to-work Support Services

Initiatives focused on transition to employment adjust or eliminate work contingencies (e.g., increasing benefits amount based on work, decreasing benefits in a stepwise fashion after compensation)

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Beneficiaries’ perceptions of the effect of removing obligations
Individual’s satisfaction with the support they received to find their way into workforce
Rates of temporary suspension of benefits for failure to comply with program requirements
Monetary fluctuations in social assistance payments to an individual while in the program

Initiatives analyze not only the effectiveness of work contingencies, but also their impact on each population group, particularly seeking to reveal what kinds of employment disadvantaged groups are finding when re-entering in the workforce ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of people experiencing disabilities who report not feeling obligated to accept low quality and insecure jobs with reduced benefits for fear of losing social support
Number/percentage of participants who secure sufficient and sustained employment (e.g., stratified by deprivation level)
Number/percentage of staff who believe evaluation of individual labour market prospects are fair and match with people’s work-experience and education
Number/percentage of initiatives with instruments and tools in place to capture people’s feedback on the impact of work contingencies on their trajectories to find well-paid, secure jobs
Ratio of effectiveness of programs and services with more work contingencies to that of programs and services with less work contingencies in terms of helping people reaching their goals

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Consider Diverse Household Financial Circumstances

Policy Target: Financial rehabilitation

Initiatives raise awareness of the ripple effects of financial rehabilitation (e.g., limited opportunities for buying a house or opening a business) and the stronger negative impact on people with a low income and insecure employment relative to people of higher socioeconomic status ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of people who report having access to clear and accurate information about the socioeconomic consequences of filing for bankruptcy, such as a reduced credit rating (included in their credit reports for years) and difficulties in obtaining loans, a mortgage, or credit cards
People’s reports on their experiences in finding and using free, reliable, and unbiased financial advice (e.g., credit counsellor) to help them navigate their debts and improve their financial situations
Bankruptcy rate

Initiatives minimize the risks of bankruptcy-triggering poverty traps among disadvantaged people with insecure jobs and low and volatile income. Initiatives seek to equalize their conditions to those of people with access to sufficient and secure employment and steady and livable income ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Financial attitudes and behaviours (e.g., credit use, spending, and savings) before and after filing for bankruptcy
Number/percentage of people who agree their bankruptcy meant a fresh start in life (e.g., stratified by socioeconomic status)
Levels of self-reported satisfaction with current financial situation (e.g., stratified by income levels)