More than 660,000 low-paid key workers, including nurses, supermarket staff and social carers, will be among the millions of people affected when the Universal Credit uplift ends in the autumn, new figures suggest.
The Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) said its research shows that London, the South East and the North West have the highest numbers of key workers on Universal Credit.
A union leader said September 30 is set to be a “bleak day” for workers when the £20-a-week increase ends.
The large number of key workers receiving Universal Credit is symptomatic of issues with in-work poverty, said the RSA.
Alan Lockey, head of the RSA’s future of work programme, said: “The link between hard work and fair pay is broken, and this cut will only make it worse.
“In the short term, the Government needs to protect this vital lifeline for millions of hard-working Brits, especially our pandemic heroes working as nurses, social carers and supermarket assistants.
“In the long term, the Government needs to make work pay, expanding the use of the living wage, tackling insecure work, and making benefits such as sick pay more generous and universal.”
The Universal Credit uplift ends in the autumn
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “It is shameful that the very workers who got us through this crisis are in the firing line when it comes to poor pay and cuts to Universal Credit.
“This £1,000-a-year cut to millions of hard-working families is economically and morally wrong.”
Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of the Unite union, said: “The determination to rob the poorest workers and families of £20 a week is heartless and economically irresponsible.”
A Government spokesperson said: “Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and we announced the temporary uplift as part of a £400 billion package that will last well beyond the end of the road map.
“We’re committed to putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families, which is why this year we provided a pay rise to two million of the UK’s lowest-paid through a higher minimum wage, while we’ll also help people earn more by levelling up opportunity.”
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