The benefits system needs to be reformed to encourage people back into work, an employment expert has said.

Rebecca Florisson, principal analyst at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said the next Government should “de-risk” the system to make it easier for people on benefits to find suitable work.

She told Express.co.uk: “In recent years, the Government has increased punitive sanctions on some of the most vulnerable people in society to push them into ‘any job’.

“Instead of further tightening benefit sanctions – which the Government’s own research suggests doesn’t result in more people in work – the focus should be on improving the quality of jobs available.”

Her comments come after the most recent job figures showed 22.3 percent of working age Britons are out of work and not looking for a job.

Ms Florisson said the jobcentre should also get rid of its “culture of box ticking” to make it easier for a person to restart their Universal Credit claim if they lose their job.

The UK unemployment rate was at 4.4 percent for February to April 2024, increasing compared to the latest quarter.

Ms Florisson said she has spoken to workers with long-term health conditions, who say it can be “very difficult” to find work after being outside the labour market.

She commented: “Jobs need to be secure, rewarding and flexible to make the risk of taking up work whilst experiencing a health condition worth it.

“We currently have a near record number of people on zero-hour contracts (over one million) and overall there are 6.8 million people in severely insecure forms of work meaning they don’t have the stability of a predictable wage or access to employment protections.

“We need to improve this offer if we want more people to look for and enter jobs.”

She said there needs to be increased levels of sick pay and more flexibility to help workers manage their health conditions while being in work.

To improve jobs more generally, the academic said there should be a legal right to flexible working.

She warned that many workers at present “censor themselves” from asking for flexible conditions to help with childcare or with health conditions, fearing they will be rejected.

There also needs to be reforms of leave entitlements with more paid breaks for holoidays, sickness and looking after children and relatives.

She explained: “We currently have a system whereby how much you earn often dictates how much time off you get for these things.

“People in higher paid sectors tend to be entitled to more time off across their working life, whereas those in low paid or insecure work often do not qualify for paid leave or forgo their time off in favour of working additional shifts, due to financial pressures. These inequalities can compound across a lifetime.”

The expert pointed out there are a number of risks for the country as whole with a shrinking workforce.

She said: “A smaller workforce impacts productivity, slowing down economic growth.

“At the same time, there’s a growing rate of older workers who are increasingly drawing their pensions, while fewer workers will contribute to the system, leading to potential shortfalls.

“Additionally, for workers themselves, being out of work for a longer period of time can lead to the erosion of their skills and confidence, making it harder to find work in the future, as well as having a negative effect on physical and mental health and decreased quality of life.”

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