Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-wage Britain
by James Bloodworth
(Atlantic Books, £12.99)

 
Don’t be put off by the bizarre endorsements from Blairite MPs, Tory journalists and Theresa May’s former chief of staff, Hired is a devasting exposé of the extent to which capitalism is ruining lives and communities in Britain.

[[{"fid":"2856","view_mode":"inlineright","fields":{"format":"inlineright","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"inlineright","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-inlineright","data-delta":"1"}}]]James Bloodworth blends reportage, statistics and socio-political analysis to assess the impact of exploitative employment.  His case studies of precarious and poorly paid work in four commercial sectors and four UK regions, are moving, but the book’s strength is its readiness to examine personal experience in relation to class and an economy based on the notion that people are disposable.

Bloodworth’s journey begins at an Amazon warehouse in Staffordshire, a workplace exhibiting common features of the gig economy. He is subjected to humiliating searches, constantly threatened with redundancy, tracked by handheld devices, denied proper breaks and constantly urged to speed up.