Working trends

• Working trends

The recent trends are the growth of part-time jobs (8.2 million people in 2014) and the increase in the number of women at work (44% of women work part time).

A lot of people hold temporary jobs, or work under short-term contracts. The number of zero-hours contracts (or casual contracts) has also skyrocketed recently.

On average, people work 40 hours a week. The UK is subject to European law, which limits the number of extra hours. Most people in full employment benefit from 5 weeks holiday entitlement a year.

• Zero-Hours Contracts

Zero-hours contracts, or casual contracts, are a new form of contracts. They allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work. They mean employees work only when they needed by employers, often at short notice. Their pay depends on how often they work.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), based on answers by employers, found 1.4 million people were on zero-hours-contracts in 2014. That represents more than 4% of the UK workforce.

• National Minimum Wage (1998)

The minimum wage was created by Tony Blair in 1998.

1.4m workers were paid the minimum wage in 2014. Nearly half of those workers (46%) are employed in two sectors: wholesale and retail; hotels and restaurants.

The minimum wage depends on age and status:

• £6.50 per hour for workers aged 21 years and older (2014)
• £5.13 per hour for workers aged 18-20 (2014)
• £3.79 per hour for workers under 18 (2014)
• £2.73 per hour for apprentices (2014)

• Average Wage and Taxation

The average gross weekly wage of full-time workers was £517 per week in April 2013. (£2068 per month or 2688€)

Personal annual income is taxed at 10% for the first £2 000 of taxable income, 22% up to £28 000 and 40% above this figure.

Taxation is done directly on your income: the sum of money you receive each month is tax-included.

• Trade Unions

The trade-unions have suffered a lot since 1979: they have lost many of their legal rights and they have lost their power base, because of the changing workforce.

In 2013, the main unions had a membership of 6.5 million, well below the peak of 13m in 1979 and the lowest number since 1945. (26% of working pop.)

They have lost 20% of their members since 1981. The main union is Unison (1.3 million members), most of whose members belong to the Health Services, Local Government and Public employees.

• Main industries

The main British industries today are banking and finance, steel, transport equipment, oil and gas, and tourism.

The makeup of the UK economy today is roughly in line with other major economies: declining primary and secondary sector, thriving tertiary sector.

In 2006, agriculture represented only 1.4% of the GDP, industry 18.2% and services 80.4%.

• Agriculture

Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1.4% of the labor force.

It contributes only around 1.5% of GDP.

The main products are cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables, cattle, sheep, poultry (volailles), fish.

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