The UK’s “shocking” class pay gap means professional employees from
poorer backgrounds are paid almost £7,000 a year less on average than
their peers from more privileged families, according to research for the
Social Mobility Commission.
The study found that even those from working class families who have
exactly the same role, education and experience as their colleagues from
more advantaged backgrounds are still paid on average 7% less, equating
to just under £2,250 a year.
The class pay gap is worse for women and for people from
minority-ethnic backgrounds, according to the research, carried out for
the commission by the London School of Economics and University College
London.
Alan Milburn, the former Labour minister who chairs the commission,
said he would send details of the findings to employers and expected
them to “take action to end the shocking class earnings penalty”.
Milburn said: “This unprecedented research provides powerful new evidence that Britain remains a deeply elitist society.”
The study, using data covering almost 65,000 people drawn from the UK Labour Force Survey,
found that on average professionals from more disadvantaged backgrounds
were paid 17% less than their more privileged peers, or £6,800 a year.
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