Tackling child poverty delivery plan: fourth year progress report 2021-2022 - focus report on households with mothers aged 25 or under

1. Income from employment

Income raised through employment is a key driver of tackling poverty by directly contributing to a family's available resources. Employment is not just about the labour market, but also people's broader circumstances, including caring responsibilities, family circumstances, life stages or health.

For mothers aged under 25, the impact of the pandemic on employment has been particularly negative. Evidence shows that young people (aged 16-24) were most affected by job losses, furlough and reduced hours at the beginning of the pandemic and, since then, pay for under 18s has recovered, whereas pay levels of 18-24 year olds have increased much more slowly.

Equally, research post-lockdown anticipated that adverse labour market effects resulting from lockdown measures would have a disproportionate longer term impact on women for a number of reasons. Firstly, women account for a higher share of employees in many shutdown sectors^[42] and those that are employed are more likely to work part-time, less likely to be in secure employment, earn less, on average, than men and are less likely to be eligible for sick pay. Hence, a reduction in income due to job losses or furloughing may be particularly harmful. Women are also more likely to have caring responsibilities which may make it hard to maintain or take on employment. Evidence suggests that with school and nursery closures, housework and childcare has fallen more on women than men.^[43],[44]

Generally, mothers aged under 25 are more likely to have incomes that fluctuate. This is called 'income volatility' and it makes it harder to plan and arrange for recurrent sources of spending like childcare, utilities or housing.

Households with children in poverty where the mother is under 25 get a lower proportion of their income from earnings compared to all households in poverty with children. Instead, they are more likely to get a higher proportion of their income from social security.^[45] However, the generosity of benefits for under 25s is lower than for older age groups (more detail in Chapter 3 – social security).

Balancing both income from employment and social security also came through strongly in the interviews. Several of the mothers we interviewed had to carefully contemplate the impact and interaction between work and social security entitlement with one respondent reporting that if they worked 3 hours less per week, they would qualify for more benefits.

“You can only work a certain amount to continue to receive Universal Credit, but then you need to work MUCH more hours to get all the income you need, so it’s a tricky balance”

Mother under 20, part of FNP

Mothers under 25 who are in paid work are more likely to still be in poverty despite working. Two in five (42%) of mothers under 25 in paid work are in relative poverty.^[46] Evidence suggests that there are two main drivers of in-work poverty: the flexibility and quality of jobs, and the current low pay in many sectors.^[47]

Many of the mothers we interviewed had babies who were still relatively young. For many, there was an aspiration to study, gain skills, enter or return to the workforce once their child(ren) were older and eligible and/or ready for funded early learning and childcare. They were generally eager and hopeful, but there was also apprehension about overcoming potential barriers to education and/or employment, such as adequate childcare arrangements, transport, impact on social security. These will be outlined in the coming sections.

“I’m being expected to work. They need to get to nursery, the baby needs looked after. I want to get back to work, I like my job and I like working, but I haven’t even been able to think about how that’s going to work.”

Mother under 20, part of FNP

“I was enjoying uni but it was challenging, a lot to handle. Everything was online at the time. Not really what I’m used to. I’ve stopped it for the moment, but would like to go back in the future.”

Mother under 20, part of FNP

The lower levels of employment are also reflected in maternity pay. As of 2008, mothers under the age of 25 in Great Britain had the highest proportion not receiving any maternity pay (29%), compared to proportions ranging between 5-7% for the 30 and over age groups.^[48] This probably reflects the fact that very young mothers tend to be in lower occupational and earnings groups and to have been in work for less time – factors associated with no maternity pay. Similarly, the youngest age group (under 25) also had the highest proportion (18%) of mothers in receipt of Maternity Allowance, which is the support received for those who do not get Statutory Maternity Pay.

1.1 Hourly pay

Hourly pay

In 2014-20, average hourly pay among low-income families with a mother under 25 in the household was £7.20. This was lower than for all low-income families, where the average hourly pay in 2014-20 was £8.20

Source: Family Resources Survey

Even if in work, earning sufficient income can be challenging. As shown in the indicator for hourly pay, mothers under 25 tend to earn less on average than other low income households.

This can be partly explained by how the National Living Wage is not enforced up until the employee is at least 23 years old. The Real Living Wage does not start until the employee is 18. Furthermore, the National Minimum Wage increases with age.^[49] As of April 2022, the National Minimum Wage rates are:

• £4.81 / hour for people under 18
• £6.83 / hour for those aged 18-20
• £9.18 / hour for those aged 21-22
• £9.50 / hour for those aged 23+

1.2 Employment rates and hours worked per household

For many mothers under 25, motherhood is still a fairly new experience. Adjusting to having a child, while also balancing paid work or education, can be challenging. Many mothers under 25 are more likely to also be lone parents and having to balance navigating paid and unpaid work without the daily support from a partner.

Those who are fortunate to have strong family relationships, and logistical and emotional support from them, would be in a stronger position to have a choice about whether to work or study. For others, who do not benefit from that social support, choice can be limited. As such, we see in the data (Figure 3) that many mothers under 25 look after their family or home.

Figure 3: Composition of all children in poverty and those in poverty and with a young mother (under 25), by economic status of highest income householder, Scotland, 2014-20. Source: Family Resources Survey

There are a variety of reasons behind families' decisions on balancing paid and unpaid work. One of the key considerations is around the age of the child. The younger the child, the less likely the mother is to be in paid employment. However, there are marked differences in a mother's return to work depending on how old they are when they have their baby.

In-depth analysis of Growing Up in Scotland data showed that likelihood of employment when the child was still under one increased with the mother's age.^[50] When their child was 10 months, 21% of mothers under 20 were employed (either full-time or part-time) compared with 55% of those in their early twenties and 83% of those aged 25 or older. As the child ages, mothers aged 25 or older remained most likely to be in employment and mothers aged under 20 remained least likely. However, employment levels amongst mothers aged under 20 do increase over time, while for other groups they remain similar. So, by age six the gap is narrower than at age two.

From a policy perspective, it is pertinent to question what type of support mothers under 25 need. This could include boosting income from employment or using other tools, like social security, to ensure that they can live with dignity as they continue to build their education/experience while supporting their child(ren). Many mothers under 25 have limited work experience prior to having children, and therefore strategies for boosting income from employment are longer term.

There is also a need to focus on what the children of younger mothers may need, particularly during the early years, to be able to provide them with their best start in life and foster strong attachment and positive parent-child relationships.

A source of financial stability (e.g. through maternity pay) is required to allow essential time in the early days for parents to develop secure attachment bonds with their child. The first 1001 days agenda, including during pregnancy, show how those early days provide the greatest opportunity to influence a child's development. Early development of cognitive skills, emotional wellbeing, social competence and sound physical and mental health builds a strong foundation across the life course. There is now growing evidence that child development is being adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic across all social strata, however, it continues to be most prevalent in areas with the highest disadvantage. This disruption to child development could lead to longer term harm and ill-health, reduced life expectancy and quality of life.^[51]

Hours worked

On average, working-age adults in households with a mother under 25 in employment worked 22 hours per week in 2014-20. This was similar for all low-income families in employment (23 hours).

Source: Family Resources Survey

Low income households, including households where the mother is under 25, tend to work fewer hours than other working households. As seen earlier in this report, they are also more likely to still be in poverty despite working.

Mothers we interviewed who had returned to work, or were soon to return to work, had to balance working hours with logistical challenges. This could mean working opposite shifts to a partner or family member, or taking on less hours in order to balance work with formal or informal childcare arrangements. These circumstances often dictated their earning potential.

“…will have to work shifts between me and partner, day and night shifts to care for our son”

Mother under 20, part of FNP

Barriers into paid employment

For some families, transitioning into paid employment is a choice. For others, various factors can hamper a family's choice to move into paid employment: including family health, caring responsibilities and access to wider support networks. For families where the mother is aged under 25, there are some specific barriers into employment to consider:

• Type of jobs available. Young people, and especially young women, are more likely to be in precarious employment which makes them more vulnerable to job cuts and insecurity, such as those caused by the pandemic.^[52]
• Limited previous experience. Many mothers aged under 25 have had less time to accumulate work experience when compared to older mothers who had been working for longer before having children. This can then limit their options to find flexible, secure and well paid jobs that allow them to balance unpaid and paid work.
• Lack of a comprehensive package of support. Many mothers under 25 are also lone parents, have babies under one and/or are part of a family where someone is disabled. These various characteristics will require a strong package of support to make paid work a logistical possibility.

Some parents choose to care for their child full-time during the early years. This can sometimes mean compromising on household income. For some mothers interviewed in the qualitative research, the income that would be left after factoring in childcare and other expenses did not justify returning to work, especially for those with children under three.

“It’s really difficult for working parents to go back to work and be able to afford childcare”

Mother aged 20-25, not part of FNP

Enablers into paid employment

There are two main enablers that can support mothers under the age of 25 back into work, should they wish to do so: ensuring the logistical infrastructure allows them to work, and making work pay. That is, ensuring that there is affordable, flexible childcare and supportive places of work and/or education. A third enabler concerns having the tools and confidence to apply for a job.

Childcare and supportive places of work and/or education. While many mothers have access to informal networks of support, mostly grandparents, many do not. Ensuring that there is affordable and suitable childcare for their children's needs is fundamental. Affordable childcare needs to be accompanied with increased support from places of work and/or education, offering family friendly working hours. The benefit of supportive employers or educational establishments came through strongly in the interviews.

“Come September it will be a bit more difficult because it’ll be full time, but I’ve spoken to all the lecturers and they’ve all been supportive and they try to take into consideration if people have children for placements, so the placement will be local.”

Mother aged 20-25, part of FNP

“My boss and colleagues are very nice…it helps me because my boss is very supportive of my family circumstances. I’m not sure if other employers would be understanding, I’m sure after a time or two that I couldn’t come in if baby was unwell etc. I’d get fired”

Mother under 20, part of FNP

Confidence

For some, having the confidence to feel they can access certain jobs is an issue. For others, it is about having the confidence to request improvements in their current job. Generally, of those mothers interviewed who received employability support - with courses, CVs, applications, as well as support to arrange logistics to make employment a possibility - this was found to be beneficial. However, there were other mothers who lacked the confidence to advocate and negotiate more suitable terms with employers, education providers or the job centre.

“I don’t know how to bring up talking to them [employer] about set hours”

Mother under 20, part of FNP

Programmes specifically designed to support young mothers with employment and education prospects can have a positive impact in the long term. The revaluation of the FNP programme found that Family Nurses' efforts to instil confidence in their clients, in education and employment, were seen as valuable.^[53]

Mothers interviewed reported local third sector organisations as a big source of information and support in facilitating their return to education and/or employment.

“I’m attending an employability programme through them [third sector organisation], and they help applying for college, and help with my CV and doing courses online for free. It’s very helpful.”

Mother under 20, part of FNP

1.3 Labour market

In terms of the labour market, there are a range of areas worth considering.

• Gender pay gap. Generally, policies that tackle the gender pay gap are likely to positively impact on mothers aged under 25.
• Long term prospects. Targeted policies that support young mothers to further their education are likely to improve job prospects.^[54] However, this should be supported by labour market policies that pursue well paid entry-level positions (e.g. at the living wage). This needs to be accompanied by a childcare infrastructure that would allow young mothers to do paid work that takes account of the age and changing needs of their children.^[55],[56]
• Types of contracts. In the UK as a whole, parents aged under 25 in employment were more likely to have a non-permanent work contract (11%) compared to all parents in employment (6%).^[57] Note that zero-hour contracts can be permanent or fixed term. The recent COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in factors enabling women and young people to maintain employment, with these groups being strongly affected by social isolation and the absence of childcare, making it harder for them to work or study during the pandemic.^[58]
• Employability programmes. Employability programmes that focus on an individual's circumstances and specific challenges can help. Fair Start Scotland, Scotland's first fully devolved employability service, launched in April 2018 and supports those who are furthest from the labour market or experience complex barriers to employment. The key focus of Fair Start Scotland is to provide tailored and personalised support with an overarching principle of fairness, dignity and respect. Fair Start Scotland figures show the proportion of parents being supported through Fair Start Scotland increasing over time (from 8% in Year 1 to 28% in Year 4). However, of all participants so far, only 1% were mothers aged under 25.^[59] Further research is necessary to understand better the specific barriers to the programme for mothers under 25.

One mother we interviewed was reluctant to leave her job at a local shop to join an employability programme due to concerns about commute time, transport links, and the potential of shift work that would not be suitable for her and her current childcare arrangements.

1.4 Skills and qualifications

A key barrier to in-work progression can be a lack of skills or education. Providing skills and educational development can support in-work progression and improve career prospects in the longer term.^[60] This may be particularly relevant for mothers under 25, who are more likely to have a lower level of qualifications and have had less time to accumulate work experience.^[61]

Evidence suggests that among young mothers their level of education can be important in promoting resilience and their ability to achieve positive outcomes in the longer term. Supporting young mothers to continue with or take-up educational opportunities can therefore be an important way of improving outcomes, both for them and for their child.^[62]

Many of the mothers interviewed aspired to start, or return to, college in order to achieve the qualifications required to gain employment in the field of their choice. A large factor in enabling these plans was the availability of childcare at the college, or other local arrangements, and support from college staff to accommodate the mothers' needs; for example, ensuring that work placements were easily accessible and that hours match the available childcare.

In circumstances where teenage mothers had negative experiences of education prior to pregnancy, extra care and support is required after pregnancy and birth. These mothers can find themselves becoming 'unofficially' excluded for being pregnant as they are unable to keep up with the demands of education and work around their education setting's schedule when balancing attending appointments and looking after their child.^[63] This lack of support can impact on their motivation and ability to continue with education, potentially leading to poorer employment opportunities.^[64]

Growing Up in Scotland data (2010-11) shows that young mothers were much less likely to have qualifications at Higher level or above.^[65] Although acquisition of qualifications increases as their child grows, even when their child is aged 6, mothers aged under 20 at the time of their child's birth remain the group least likely (by a significant margin) to have these Higher level qualifications.

As discussed above, however, this is a complex picture, and for some young parents, having a child can have positive impacts on their skills and education. If provided with appropriate support, becoming a young parent can lead to re-engagement with education, training and, eventually, employment.^[66]

Trying to balance education with employment and providing for their children can make the pursuit of higher education harder for young mothers.^[67] Support for adolescent parents to continue education and training appears to be inconsistent around the UK, with a lack of clear pathways and, as of a decade ago, discrimination against adolescent mothers appeared to remain common in educational settings.^[68] Research in northern England found that young teenage mothers reported 'being ushered out of mainstream education when they became pregnant', regardless of their own desires.^[69] Staff health and safety concerns, lack of understanding of pregnancy health-related issues and antenatal appointment commitments were cited as reasons.

In Scotland, the Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Strategy is specifically designed to prioritise the needs of young people around pregnancy and parenthood.^[70] The latest progress report found that, whilst rates of pregnancy in young people in Scotland continue to decline and the inequalities gap is narrowing, rates are still amongst the highest in Western Europe and inequalities persist. Next steps will focus on supporting local implementation, giving young people more control, supporting young people through their pregnancies via a specific strategy and supporting them to continue their education.