Employees receiving the minimum wage are often in lower quality jobs, new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found.
The study discovered that compared to higher paid workers, those receiving the minimum wage have more job insecurity.
They are also much less likely to be members of a trade union and to have access to the option of flexible working, including working from home.
The analysis also found that minimum wage employees are more likely to work longer shifts that coincide with more unsocial times.
They are also more likely to work in jobs in which their skills are not fully utilised.
"Our research has shown that minimum wage workers, in addition to being on low pay, also face lower job quality as measured by a range of job characteristics," said Dr Paul Redmond, an author of the paper.
"Low job quality may have negative impacts on a person's well-being.
"Therefore, the combination of low pay and other potentially unfavourable job quality measures is of particular concern for individuals that are long-term minimum wage employees."
But the study also revealed that those on the minimum wage are more likely to have more choice in terms of who they work with and their working hours.
They are also more likely to work with bosses who are more successful in encouraging people to work together.
But despite these slight upsides overall the Low Pay Commission, which funded the research, said the finding that minimum wage workers have lower job quality jobs than those on higher earnings is key.
This is because job quality can impact a person's well-being as well as the performance of the economy and productivity.
"This is an important finding and highlights the need to consider indicators other than income when evaluating the job quality of minimum wage workers," said Ultan Courtney, Chairperson fo the Low Pay Commission.
The ESRI found minimum wage employees are ten percentage points more likely to fear jobs loss and to hold temporary contracts.
They are also five percentage points more likely to want to work more hours than they currently do. They are also 13 percentage points more likely to work in jobs in which their skills are underutilised.
This is reflected in the fact that minimum wage employees also report lower job complexity and lower levels of computer usage compared to higher paid employees, and are less likely to receive training in their jobs.
