According to the think tank, one in six foreign-born workers are in some form of atypical employment, compared to about one in 10 (11%) UK workers.
The study found that about 460,000 foreign-born workers without UK citizenship are on flexible or temporary contracts, in gig economy employment, or self-employed.
Resolution Foundation said these workers’ “increased precarity” is not explained by age, sex or qualification level. It noted that foreign-born workers are usually more highly qualified than those born in the UK.
The think tank found that the likelihood of precarious work drops for foreign-born workers the longer they stay in the UK, but never fully converges with that of UK-born workers. Those who arrived fewer than five years ago are 2.4 times as likely to be in precarious work, dropping to one-and-a-half times after five years, and only 1.2 times for foreign-born UK citizens.
According to Resolution Foundation, more than one in 10 (12%) recently arrived foreign-born workers are on contracts with variable hours (and therefore pay) set by their employers, compared to 7% of UK-born workers.
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Recently arrived foreign-born employees are also twice as likely to be employed on zero-hours contracts than a UK-born employee (4% versus 2%).
The analysis reveals how experiences of precarity for some foreign-born workers are shaped by their sector. Many of the sectors with the most precarious working arrangements – such as hospitality, administration and agriculture – also have the highest proportion of foreign-born workers.
The report found that precarious work is more prevalent for non-white ethnic groups, affecting more than a quarter (26%) of Pakistani foreign-born workers compared with only 12% of white foreign-born workers.
Overall, the report shows that among foreign-born workers, recent arrivals, non-UK citizens and ethnic minorities are most at risk of experiencing precarious work.
The foundation noted that clearly defined and consistently enforced employment rights will benefit all workers, regardless of where they were born. However, failing to protect existing rights will disproportionately affect foreign-born workers.
Hannah Slaughter, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “With one in six foreign-born workers in the UK labour market experiencing precarious employment, more needs to be done to protect these and UK-born workers from exploitation.
“Failing to protect the existing rights of foreign-born workers risks creating a two-tier workforce, driving down standards across the entire labour market and allowing rogue employers to profit in a ‘race to the bottom’.
“The Government’s Employment Rights Bill will offer vital additional protections to all workers – but without creating a data firewall between labour market and immigration enforcement bodies, there remains a risk that worker exploitation will continue to go unreported.”
