The notion that work is a route out of poverty has been looking pretty shaky for some time. The proportion of children living in poverty in households where at least one parent is in work now stands at 23% - the highest level in almost twenty years. And so, of course, many families claiming social security benefits will be in work. A far cry from the shrill polarisation of strivers and shirkers we often see in the media.
The truth is many of the UK's parents want to work. But as well as the right pay, they need job security and the right hours - so they can balance work with caring for their family. Even though this combination doesn't sound like too much to ask but in today's labour market, it can be hard to find.
We hear often from parents grappling with trying to arrange childcare around fluctuating and uncertain hours, from parents who have an employment status that means they miss out on key parental employment rights, and from parents who are working well below their earning power because they cannot find a job that offers the hours and flexibility their family needs.
We've launched new polling in partnership with the Child Poverty Action Group which suggests that almost half (47%) of working parents with an annual household income under £30,000 feel they don't have enough money to support their families - and a third of parents do not have enough time to spend with them - suggesting work can, in fact, impose a new form of time poverty which also prevents families from thriving.
So, parents - very often low-paid parents - are caught in a trap. They are having to choose between increasing their working hours - often impossible because of their parenting responsibilities and the sky-high cost of childcare - and spending time with their children. At the other end of the scale we hear from parents burnt out from over work, having to go far beyond their contracted hours to get the job done at the expense of time spent with family.
I don't think it needs to be like this.
But the UK labour market does need fundamental reform if we want families to have enough money and enough time to thrive, businesses to prosper from the increased wellbeing of their employees, and for the UK to meet the economic challenges of increased productivity and growth, given we will be operating outside of the European Union.
What could this reformed labour market look like? What needs to change? We have come together with the Child Poverty Action Group to launch Britain Works - a new programme of work that aims to work with UK businesses to identify the solutions that will improve the working lives of the UK's low and middle-income parents.
We're inviting businesses, researchers and parents to engage with us in rethinking the current model - so the solutions we develop are realistic and deliverable. Join us.