Good, fair work is beneficial for all as evidence suggests that job quality affects mental and physical health outcomes. Good, fair and secure jobs increase health and wellbeing whereas job insecurity and dissatisfaction can cause anxiety and lead to poorer job performance. Because unsatisfactory or unsecure jobs can be just as harmful as unemployment, merely having a job will not always protect the workers’ physical and mental health: job quality is also important.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated social, economic, and health inequalities and good, fair employment is essential to tackle these inequalities. The pandemic has had a significant impact on the quality of jobs in relation to pay, type and terms of employment as well as the health, wellbeing and safety of workers. Recovery needs to focus not only number of employment opportunities but also the creation of good quality jobs and retraining workers who may have lost their jobs. In the long-term this will ensure healthy and happy workers. The actions that the Government and employers take now will have implications for years into the future and determine long-term health and economic outcomes.

This is a unique and unprecedented time and Build Back Fairer: The COVID-19 Marmot Review (2020) has urged that the Government and policy makers to focus on ‘building back fairer’ not just better. An important part of building back better and fairer in a post-COVID-19 world is ensuring good, fair work for all as this will help decrease health inequalities and increase population health and wellbeing.