How work has been affected by the pandemic in the UK

23 June 2021 – According to our unique Covid-19 survey 81% of respondents in the United Kingdom stated that their work was affected by the coronavirus pandemic.  At the peak of the pandemic, 67% of the respondents expected a wage decrease. The situation has improved over a year but things are still not the way they were. 

WageIndicator regularly provides information on work and life during the pandemic, through graphs collected by its surveys. The coronavirus pandemic has affected the livelihood of the citizens of the U.K. Many small businesses face difficulty to stay afloat. The Coronavirus Effect on Work, Life and Feelings survey finds that 27% of the U.K. respondents have to work from home, 41% of the respondents face obstacles in completing their tasks, and 38% of respondents say that their workload has reduced, owing to the pandemic. Only 8% of respondents have lost their jobs.

Though many service sector employees can work from home, this forms a small percentage (27% as mentioned above) of the total working population. Many production sector jobs and minimum wage jobs cannot be done with ease during the pandemic. Workers have found their wages reduced by their employers to cut costs. Many non-contractual and low level employees have also been laid off. 

In the United Kingdom, 47.2% of the population are fully vaccinated and 64.9% of the population have been given at least one dose, as at June 2021. Since March of this year, the United Kingdom has been opening up in phases. Schools, restaurants, pubs and some non- essential services are operational. This provides an opportunity for citizens to get back to on-site/ offline work. Fill out our survey so that we can provide updated information on working conditions during the pandemic in the United Kingdom.