Worker Power for the AI Economy: Portable Benefits and the Future of Employment Support

Artificial intelligence could significantly disrupt the political economy of the UK labour market. An economy where labour demand changes rapidly and unpredictably would require a new approach to employment support and skills development, but the UK's system of employment and retraining support is poorly equipped to handle a high level of disruption. This article proposes a policy solution called ‘portable benefits’, a new system of entitlements, savings and training rights based on the French Compte Personnel de Formation and emerging US pilots. Portable benefits would give workers flexible entitlements across jobs, including training credits, income security, legal support and access to worker organisations. The author argues it should be paired with higher expectations from employers to train, consult and redeploy their workforce and a stronger stronger system of cooperative labour market institutions.