WWD1
Currently Having a Job
What we do
- Employment
Currently Having a Job
It is well recognised that employment status has an impact on overall wellbeing. The Green Book Supplementary Guidance on wellbeing says ‘generally, having a job is good for wellbeing and considered one of the most important factors linked with wellbeing. Being in a ‘high quality’ job is even better’.
Being in work is associated with better health and social inclusion through the provision of:
- income
- social interaction
- a core role
- identity and purpose
The UK government, through its Plan for Jobs, is focused on protecting, supporting and creating jobs across the country. The Central Government Social Value Model places a social value on jobs created and a requirement for anyone wanting to supply the government with products or services, to consider the creation – or protection – of local jobs.
This makes this area of social value important to include in the Measure Up wellbeing framework.
Key Value
A monetised economic and social value of £42,000
Economic, and social value of an individual moving into work vs not being in work, per full time equivalent (FTE) job per year for a person who would not be in work otherwise.
There is well recognised value of employment to the individual in work, society as a whole, and the economy, as well as potential cost saving implications for the state. There are a number of benefits that accrue from moving someone into employment and off-benefit, including:
– Increases in earnings to the individual;
– Increases in tax receipts to the government;
– Reductions in costs to the government from the individual being on benefit; and,
– Health and wellbeing benefits from being in employment.
At the Bronze level we only include economic and wellbeing value as for other fiscal estimates a user would need additional data about the person or people in question.
The headline value includes:
- an estimated economic value of £35,000 which is based on the average wage in 2023 across the UK from published ONS data
- a wellbeing valuation using the WELLBY methodology of being in a job versus being unemployed, of £6,000. Adjusted value for inflation to 2023 prices is £7,042 (£7,000). Our approach to inflation adjustments is explained on our Methodology page HERE The wellbeing value is sourced from State of Life research published in their WELLBY Value Guide.
An overall rounded value of (£35,000 + £7,000 =) £42,000
Actual employment wage rates can be found on the UK government website:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/householddisposableincomeandinequality/financialyearending2022
Local Needs Analysis Data Source
Before using this MeasureUp value, we encourage you to assess the local need in relation to the activity or outcome.
Here is the most useful initial data source for assessing local need in relation to this value.
For assessing local needs related to the value WWD1 ‘Currently having a job’, you can examine employment statistics for your area. The most relevant indicators are: Employment rate, Economic inactivity rate, Percentage of workless households. These are available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) through the Local Statistics Explorer or standard ONS datasets. You can filter data by country, region, combined authority, or local authority, depending on the indicator.
The employment rate shows the proportion of people aged 16 to 64 who are in paid work. The economic inactivity rate reflects the proportion of the population not in the labour force (e.g., due to study, retirement, or caring responsibilities). The percentage of workless households measures the share of households where no one aged 16 or over is in employment. These indicators are updated annually and provide valuable insight into local employment needs and challenges.
How to measure having a job
If you’re just starting out, start with Bronze first. The result of a Bronze measurement is just an estimate, but requires the least effort; whereas Silver, Gold and Gold+ give more accurate results but require more effort.
Each level has an effort to accuracy indicator, choose the one that’s right for you.
Bronze
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
Multiply the number of Full time equivalent (FTE) jobs created for people who would not be in work otherwise by £42,000. Report this stating this includes economic and wellbeing value.
Silver
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
Multiply the number of Full time equivalent (FTE) jobs created for people who would not have been in work otherwise by the adjusted welfare weighting. Adjust the economic estimate based on the data about the person or the role created.
Gold
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
Adjust the value based on actual survey results from your stakeholders.
Gold+
Effort
Accuracy
Monetised value:
Adjust monetised value by discounting based on counterfactual, and other discount factors
| Value Type: | Master outcome |
What's this?
This is the type of value. Some values are outcomes, which means many different interventions might lead to them, others are specific interventions that have a set value. |
|---|---|---|
| UN SDG Categories: |
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What's this?
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are global goals adopted in 2015 for all signed up nations to achieve for us to have a sustainable global future by 2030. There are 17 Goals that address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030. |
| 2020 Social Value Models: |
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What's this?
PPN 06/20 Taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts introduced the Central Government Social Value Model in 2020 which all Central Government contracting authorities must use in their in scope procurements. It consists of 5 themes, 8 policy outcomes, and 24 Model Award Criteria which outline key priority areas to achieve more social value. |
| 2025 Social Value Models: |
|
What's this?
PPN 06/20 was superseded by PPN 002 Taking account of social value in the award of contracts, published in February 2025 in line with the Royal assent of the Procurement Act 2023. The Model applies to all Central Government procurements commencing on or after 1 October 2025 under the Procurement Act 2023. Out of scope procurements can choose to apply the model but are not required to do so. The updated model is structured around 5 government missions and 8 outcomes, with 17 Model Award Criteria, and a mandatory minimum 10% weighting of the total evaluation score assigned to social value. |
Evidence
Measure Up focuses on empowering you to numerically measure the impact you’re having. We recommend that numeric reports are backed up with stories and other types of evidence to help illustrate, in human terms, the impact that’s being made on individuals.
We recommend seeking consent from participants in your intervention to collect and tell their story. This should include a little background on the participant, a summing up of life before the intervention, the human impact of the intervention, and the longer term (if known) impact on the person’s life outside of, and after, the intervention.
Providing photographs, audio recordings, video interviews or even artefacts from the intervention (for example, writing, paintings, music from creative interventions) can add more to the story, and convey the emotional impact of interventions more directly.
In some cases it’s appropriate to anonymise or abbreviate the personal information of case study participants. No story should be published or shared without the recorded consent of the individual(s) it concerns. Individuals continue to own the rights to their stories and if they request you stop sharing the story or making it available online you should do so promptly and without need for justification.
Feedback
Measure Up is an open, collaborative and transparent. If you have any suggestions or feedback on our pragmatic, recommended approach to measuring and valuing social value, including wellbeing, economic, and fiscal impact, and effects on our environment, please get in touch so we can share and discuss this at our next Advisory Group meeting.
More help
We want to empower anyone to perform and improve their impact measurement – without needing a degree in economics.
If you need any more help, or just someone to do the legwork for you we can help signpost you to software, training, consultancy, and strategic support to help you get to grips with the impact you’re having.
