The effects of flexibilization on social divisions and career trajectories in the UK labour market

The UK has been characterized as a liberalmarket economy with a liberal residual welfare system. Relative to other Western European economies, British workers have low levels of employment protection and limited support from the social security system. Erosion of legal protection and trade union support further accelerated during the 1980s and 1990s. Although employment laws introduced by the ‘New Labour’ government that was in power from 1997 to 2010 and European Directives aimed at protecting part-time and temporary workers have to some extent alleviated the problems associated with the flexibilization of work, employment protection remains low, which particularly affects young people entering the labour market and older people on the cusp of retirement.