UK SBS FWRECR16054 Losses for Displaced Workers (ReTender)

Discussions with BIS policy officials (across our Economic Shocks & Opportunities and Industrial Development team) and external stakeholders have highlighted the following areas of research that could help to fill important gaps in our evidence base; 1) Going beyond displaced workers in general; the role of different economic conditions, sectors, locations and the characteristics of displaced workers themselves. The current research on income losses for displaced workers within the UK focuses on workers in general prior to 2007 that faced redundancy due to firm closure and mass-layoffs.

However, if it is deemed appropriate for the government to intervene into a market of displaced workers it is essential that any intervention is designed to support workers in the best possible way. To ensure that the government are able to do this effectively we would like to commission: a) An up-to-date study of the income losses of displaced workers; unpacking the distinction between pay and employment and including the most recent expansion, peak, "Great Recession" and recovery periods; b) A deeper understanding of how these income losses vary according to circumstances and personal characteristics.

We are interested in characteristics such as age, skill level, job tenure, occupation, initial salary, sector and - importantly - location. c) An understanding of how income losses are influenced by spatial and temporal interdependencies i.e. what is the additional impact of a series of redundancies/lay-offs occurring in the same labour market area around the same time? 2) Considering the alternative losses that displaced workers face rather than analysis solely focussing on income losses. The additional evidence gaps which we are interested in investigating include: a) The sector and occupation of future employment – what can we learn about the transferability of skills for different types of workers? b) The location of future employment – what can we learn about the spatial mobility of displaced workers?

And; c) The wider social impacts on a household containing a displaced worker such as relocation, relationship breakdown and changes in savings & health trends. The societal impacts on a household, however, are a secondary focus of the research and should be viewed as an addition to the main commission. We would like to commission an in-depth study which analyses the points outlined above, in order to help tailor local and national policy designed to support displaced workers.