HRpedia: 'Job lock'

Job lock, n.

A term mostly used in America, where it refers to an employee’s inability to change jobs due to benefit considerations. (Usually, the reluctance of a new employer’s insurance company to cover pre-existing medical conditions.)

But it’s gaining currency in the UK as a way of describing any employee who is trapped in an organisation or role.

These employees might be earning money they couldn’t earn elsewhere; they might be in a niche industry or company and have insufficient transferable skills; they might be trapped in a specific location because of their spouse’s work, children’s school or care responsibilities.

Many NHS employees feel job-locked because competitor organisations find it hard to match the NHS’s unusually generous pensions.

Used in practice:

‘I know that you’d love to get out of the ‘Firm’ and set up a strip bar, Harry, but you can’t. One, you’re job-locked due to lack of transferable skills, and two, your Grandma would set the corgis on you.’

About the author

Andrew Baird

Andrew is the CEO of HRville. He is also Employer Brand Director of Blackbridge Communications, Editorial Director of Professionals in Law and an associate of The Smarty Train. Previously, he was the MD of TCS Advertising.