The Universal Credit (UC) system is unnecessarily costly to employers, according to a new report from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

As we reach the end of the year, our 12 Days of Christmas countdown revisits each month's most notable happenings.

The UK government signalled its intention to intensify benefit sanctions with the recently announced ‘Way to Work’ scheme, which aims to move half a million people into jobs by the end of June 2022. 

The number of workers on Universal Credit (UC) has increased by 1.3 million since the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rise of 130%.

The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) new jobs programme Way to Work has faced media backlash for its methods and many in the sector fear it will be counterproductive in the long term.

Fewer than a quarter of people (23%) in England who used to receive free school meals were earning above the living wage by the age of 25.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged to address the UK's economic vulnerabilities through a mixed programme of heavy investment and increased taxation.

Government financial support provided a lifeline to workers struggling with in-work poverty during the coronavirus pandemic.

Eighty per cent of workers experience fluctuating pay packets, with low-paid workers most at risk, according to research from the Resolution Foundation