Persistently high levels of low pay and in-work poverty in the UK reveal a blind spot in the Government’s otherwise impressive record on employment and poverty. This report makes the case for a coherent strategy to deal with the twin challenges of low pay and in-work poverty that emphasises job quality and career progression and recognises the needs of different families.

This is the third paper in ippr’s ‘Working Out of Poverty’ series, a project to develop proposals to end the injustice of in-work poverty, through promoting greater fairness and opportunity to progress in the labour market.

Other papers in this series include Working Out of Poverty and For Love or Money, both published in 2008.