Institute for Employment Research » IER News & blogs

Dr Ruth Beresford disseminates research at Congress House for TUC training event on workplace sexual harassment

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

On Wednesday 7th October, the TUC hosted the workshop 'Practical Steps for Ending Sexual Harassment in the Workplace' for union reps, facilitated by the Workers Policy Project. Dr Ruth Beresford and co-author Dr Bob Jeffrey (Sheffield Hallam University) presented early findings from their latest research, outlining the barriers to talking about and reporting workplace sexual harassment, the risk factors that increase vulnerability to harassment, and union campaigning and activism to challenge it.

The event was opened by Kate Bell, Assistant General Secretary of the TUC, and closing speeches were delivered by John McDonnell MP and Ian Hodson (President of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union). Further information on the event is available here.

Dr Jamelia Harris presented her research at international conferences

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

IER's Dr Jamelia Harris shared work from the project "Help or hindrance? Exploring the impact of foreign aid on local skills" at the 23rd Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanisation in the South (N-AERUS) Conference. The presentation explored the many ways in which foreign aid can impact on skills development in developing countries, analysing direct, indirect and unintentional consequences of the aid-skills nexus.

At the 3rd MethodsNET Conference, Dr Harris presented work from the project "Colonial legacies and the labour market in the English-speaking Caribbean". Focusing on the methodological design of the interdisciplinary project, the paper argues for the practice of mixed methods research to understand questions that span lengthy time periods and for which contextualisation is critical.

The Budget: Trinidad and Tobago

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Whilst many have been focused on the Westminster budget this week, IER's Dr Jamelia Harris provided expert analysis on Trinidad and Tobago's.

Jamelia was part of a panel of experts which analysed the Trinidad and Tobago national budget immediately after its reading on 12 October. As well as expert opinion on the budget itself, Dr Harris offered analysis on broad-based economic development, the need to boost labour force participation and create meaningful jobs, and transform systems of collective bargaining for public sector workers.

The full recording is available on YouTube.

Event: Peter Elias presents at the ESRC Festival of Social Science

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:00:00 GMT

Each year the Economic and Social Research Council invites universities to showcase some of their research in the social sciences.

On November 7th the 91Ӱ��ƽ�� will host a programme that demonstrates the range and diversity of its research work in the social sciences. Within this programme Peter Elias will be presenting on 'Navigating Skills, Jobs and Careers', in which he will describe his work leading a team of researchers who have created the UK Standard Skills Classification.

The in-person session will be open to the general public and can be booked here.

IER reinvigorates conversation on Industrial Relations

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Industrial relations is both a field of practice and a field of study, with a central focus on social relations at work.

Our latest opinion piece, by Gill Dix, Trine P. Larsen and Chris Warhurst, addresses the UK Government’s call ‘to build a modern industrial relations framework, fashioned on the principle of social partnership - that consent and consensus replace disputes and conflict.’ It seeks a re-invigorated collaborative approach, initiated by conversation in Warwick, in which academics, government and social partners come together to explore what a new industrial relations framework might look like.

Read the full article here. Join in the conversation on LinkedIn.

IER is hiring a Research Fellow

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT

The Institute for Employment Research (IER) is seeking to appoint an outstanding Research Fellow to strengthen its employment and labour markets research. We are looking for a labour economist or other social scientist possessing high level quantitative skills who wants to undertake rigorous research addressing important labour market and related public policy questions.

The role provides an opportunity to develop your own area of research expertise while contributing to IER's wider programme of policy relevant employment and labour market research.

Read more about the role at the 91Ӱ��ƽ�� website.

The deadline for applying is Sunday, 1st November 2026 at 11:59pm (UK time).

IER welcomes Dr Ruth Beresford

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT

Ruth joined IER in July. A sociologist by background, Ruth uses qualitative methods to research workplace sexual harassment particularly focusing on workers’ lived experiences, low-paid and/or insecure work, and sectoral analyses of sexual harassment.

Her research interests include workplace inequalities, workplace harms, low paid and/or precarious work, regulation and enforcement, worker experiences and trade unions. Ruth often uses feminist research methods, participatory research approaches and creative methods within her research. Ruth previously worked at Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield.

Trialling an evaluation framework for LLM-powered careers advice

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT

The Inception Report for this Nuffield Foundation funded project has been published. It has been developed in consultation with the thirty person project Advisory Group which includes widespread representation from across the careers sector.

IER research featured at British Academy Roundtable on ‘good jobs’ and graduate outcomes

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT

On 14 September, Dr Sangwoo Lee presented at an expert roundtable hosted by the British Academy. Sharing findings from his recent research on multidimensional graduate job quality premiums across the UK and Europe, he argued that conventional evaluative metrics, which rely heavily on gross earnings and standard employment status, fail to capture the realities of modern graduate employment.

IER was also represented at the roundtable by Professor Peter Elias and Gabriel Atfield, contributing to discussions on skills, regional inequality, and the future data infrastructure needed to assess fair and sustainable work across the UK.

Dr Sangwoo Lee's Expert Comment on ONS Labour Market Statistics (May 2026 - July 2026)

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 15:40:00 GMT

Non-standard working arrangements are coming under pressure: Payrolled employees fell by 39,000 in May-July 2026 and workforce jobs a by 48,000, the latter driven by a 43,000 decline in self-employed jobs. This suggests even non-standard arrangements that previously absorbed some labour market weakness are now under pressure