Good work and better business

Good Work in Yorkshire and the Humber
Good work is central to employee wellbeing and business success, underpinning a fairer, more inclusive, and sustainable economy. Employers shape the quality of work through their influence over factors such as pay, terms and conditions, working environment, workforce health and wellbeing, work-life balance and worker representation. Inclusive businesses not only create good jobs but also open up these opportunities to groups that are often excluded.

Yet too much work in the region remains low-paid or insecure. Support, information, and evidence to drive better work and inclusive business practices can be fragmented. There is an urgent need to build momentum, gather evidence, and share learning around place-based approaches to good work. YPIP facilitates this through generating research and evidence, supporting innovative demonstration projects, and sharing good practice and learning through events, networks and bespoke resources.

How We Work
Co-design is at the heart of YPIP with universities, businesses, communities, and the public and voluntary sectors working together to develop solutions to regional challenges. Core goals include:

Supporting place-based approaches to building a good work ecosystem.
Advancing good work in the foundational economy, where it is most urgently needed.

Why It Matters
Good work benefits both employees and employers. Fair pay, healthy workplaces, and inclusive practices help businesses attract and retain top talent, close skills gaps, and boost overall productivity. Good work also strengthens communities and supports a fairer, more resilient regional economy.

Our Priorities
Drawing on conversations with employers, communities, policymakers, and community organisations, we identified three priority areas with the most significant potential for impact:

Foundational Economy – improving job quality in sectors such as social care, hospitality, retail, and logistics.
Inclusive Recruitment – creating fairer, more accessible routes into employment for people facing barriers to work.
Business Support – redesigning support to promote inclusion goals alongside growth and productivity objectives.

Watch the Good Work: Evidence and Policy Review video

The Foundational Economy

The Foundational Economy (FE) encompasses the everyday services and sectors that sustain communities, including social care, retail, hospitality, housing, and transportation. These sectors account for more than half of South Yorkshire’s jobs and businesses, yet they are often associated with low pay, insecure work, and limited opportunities for career advancement. Despite their importance, local strategies frequently prioritise higher-wage ‘frontier’ industries, leaving the conditions of many workers in the FE overlooked.

As part of YPIP, we will explore how good work can be defined and promoted across different FE sectors. We aim to identify examples of organisations that are already leading the way and examine how lessons from them might be shared. We will also explore opportunities for testing innovative approaches to improving job quality and skills development, while recognising the role of FE sectors, such as social care and early years education, as essential infrastructure for wider economic growth.

Inclusive Recruitment

For many people facing disadvantage, such as minoritised groups, disabled people and those with complex life circumstances, the path to good work is far from straightforward. Too often, these individuals are excluded from opportunities altogether or find themselves trapped in insecure, low-quality jobs. This is not only a loss for individuals but also for employers, who miss out on the benefits of a diverse, skilled and motivated workforce.

Research and community voices in South Yorkshire, including findings from the Vital Signs report, show that barriers to good work remain a pressing concern. Employers’ ability to adapt, for example, by offering flexibility, recognising lived experience, and providing culturally sensitive support, is crucial in helping people access and sustain good jobs. Identifying and understanding the scope to replicate good practice around inclusive recruitment is a key priority. The YPIP team is also currently engaged in work to understand how employers and potential employees from groups facing disadvantage can co-design more inclusive recruitment pathways.

Business support

In Yorkshire and the Humber, business support has traditionally prioritised growth and productivity. Yet many employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), face challenges in balancing these objectives with goals around inclusion, workforce wellbeing, and sustainable practices. Support services can be complex, fragmented, and challenging to navigate, leaving businesses uncertain about how to enhance diversity, embed inclusive practices, or respond to evolving workforce needs. At the same time, there is growing awareness that inclusive workplaces are not only fairer but can also boost innovation, productivity, and resilience.

Our project will explore ways to make business support more inclusive and accessible. We will work with partners to develop practical approaches that embed inclusive practices into existing programmes and initiatives. Through networks, peer learning, and regional events, we aim to showcase best practice, share resources, and highlight the connections between inclusive practices, productivity, and business success.