Pandemic pay cut

Some of the lowest paid workers have been the hardest hit

LABOURERS, security guards and cleaners are among the workers most likely to have seen a reduction in pay during the pandemic. A Government report found there were more than eight million UK employees working in “high vulnerability jobs”, which means they are non-key worker roles that are unlikely to be done from home.

People employed in those jobs were more likely to see a reduction in working hours or wages as a result of Covid-19 and the lockdowns.

More than half of workers who have been furloughed were those in high vulnerability jobs (53.0 per cent), as were 45.8 per cent who have seen a reduction in pay.

High vulnerability jobs also made up 87.8 per cent who were on a low wage in the first place - earning less than £9.12 an hour even before the pandemic.

Other jobs were classed as either “medium vulnerability jobs” - which includes some key worker roles and some jobs which can be partially done from home - or “low vulnerability jobs” which are very likely to be done from home, or classed as key worker roles.

Only a third of employees who had seen a reduction in pay were in medium vulnerability jobs (33.4 per cent), and one in five (20.8 per cent) were in low vulnerability jobs.

Data shows that 90.7 per cent of those working in “elementary occupations” - which means jobs which consist of simple and routine tasks, such as cleaning or labouring were in high vulnerability jobs.

That adds up to more than 2.2 million people.

Skilled workers such as electricians and plumbers were also more likely to have suffered a loss in wages during the pandemic.

Of those working in a skilled trade, 92.1 per cent, or more than 1.5m employees, were highly vulnerable to pay loss.

In comparison, most people working in professional occupations (60.3 per cent), were in low vulnerability jobs.

That means 3.7m lawyers, accountants and other professionals were able to continue to do their jobs, either from home or in key professions, with only a low risk of being furloughed or forced to take a paycut.

The biggest average wage loss affected upholsterers and people working in trades related to textiles and garments.

They lost an average of 22 per cent of their wages in 2020.

They were followed by TV, video and audio engineers, who lost an average of 21 per cent of their annual earnings, and then hairdressers and beauty salon managers, who were hit with average pay cuts of 17 per cent.

The report found that two thirds (66 per cent) of people in high vulnerability jobs were men, while 62 per cent of low vulnerability roles were filled by women.

Almost half of all employees aged 16 to 19 were in high vulnerability jobs.