Income and Employment

Responding to today's A-level results, Dr. Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director of The Equality Trust, said:

"They'll be some anxious parents and students this morning, but for many students from poorer backgrounds the battle doesn't end here, sadly.

"We know that in many professions, privately educated students receive significantly higher pay than their state school counterparts, even when they've received exactly the same degree from the same university. We also know there is a huge class pay gap in many top jobs. 

The Equality Trust has responded to the BBC's publication of 'star' salaries. 

Dr. Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director of The Equality Trust, said:

"It's clear there are some extraordinary salaries being paid at the BBC, but this isn't the real issue. The problem is the huge disparities in pay we see in many large organisations. Often a small group at the top is paid astronomical amounts while those at the bottom are seen as a cost to be reduced. 

Commenting on today's publication of the Taylor Review into modern employment practices, Dr. Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director of The Equality Trust, said:

"Some 'gig economy' jobs are likely to help those on low incomes boost their pay, but others are little more than a way for employers to dodge their responsibilities. The creation of jobs is vital to reduce inequality, but the creation of low-skill, low productivity jobs is not the best long term plan for a more equal, successful society. 

The Equality Trust has responded to today's report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on their updated minimum income standard. The report finds that despite an above-inflation increase in the “national living wage”, low-income families are falling further behind a minimum income standard - which acts as a barometer of living standards for households on low incomes

Dr. Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director of The Equality Trust, said: 

Britain's poorest households pay a greater proportion of their income in taxes than the richest, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Analysis of the ONS' Effects of Taxes and Benefits publication, released today, found: