London's Labour Market

The COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on London’s labour market. In the months following the first lockdown in March 2020, London experienced a sharp fall in employment levels, alongside rises in unemployment and economic inactivity.

The Economy Committee set out to investigate the current state of London’s labour market in the aftermath of the COVID 19 -pandemic. The Committee reached several key findings as part of our investigation, and made 14 recommendations to the Government and the Mayor.

Recommendations include:

• The Mayor should conduct an evaluation of the Good Work Standard in 2024-25 to understand its impact on workplaces where employers have adopted it, and the barriers to other employers adopting it.
• The Mayor should invite the NHS in London to be actively involved in the No Wrong Door programme, in order to develop closer links between the NHS and employment programmes in London and to support those with ill health back into employment.
• The Government should urgently review Statutory Sick Pay, with a view to increasing the amount provided and for it to be paid from the first day that an employee is off work due to sickness.
• The Government should devolve the Apprenticeship Levy to London. The Mayor should continue to lobby the Government to do this.