British
workers continue to have unequal access to workplace benefits, a study has
revealed.
Britain’s
World of Work – Myths and Realities claims that those employed in senior
management roles have access to a far greater range of benefits than those in clerical
or manual occupations.
The
research, undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Council, bases its
results on in-depth interviews with 2,466 employees from across all
occupational groups, including the self-employed.
Almost
90 per cent of those in higher professional/ management roles were found to
have an occupational pension. This compares to just over half of non-manual
occupations and even fewer people employed in manual skilled or semi-skilled
roles.
Similar
inequalities were found in employee’s access to occupational sick schemes and
private health care. The closest gaps were found to exist in employee’s access
to company cars/vans, profit sharing and share schemes.
However,
those in senior management positions still have considerably more access than
anyone else in the workplace, the survey claims. www.esrc.ac.uk
