Flexible Working Report

8/6/2019 Flexible Working Report

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HouSE oF CommonS all-Party ParliamEntary Small BuSinESS GrouP

Fexbe Wkg: Cheges Bsess


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Fexbe Wkg:Cheges Bsess

House o Commons All-Party Parliamentary Small Business Group

Certied Accountants Educational Trust (London), 2009.


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3Flexible Working: Challenges For business

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Flexible working has many advantages or both theemployer and the employee, including increasing the stamorale and loyalty, reducing sta turnover andabsenteeism as well as decreasing overhead costs.

However, there is still a signicant stigma and anoverwhelming assumption that exible working is designedor, and only available to, some workers; specicallyparents, carers, and women.

There is a lot o potential in exible working. Ourrespondents agree that SMEs could benet greatly romintroducing such working arrangements and many o themalready do oten through inormal arrangements.However, we cannot lose track o potential difculties theymay encounter.

The exible working challenges or business, especiallysmall and micro businesses, are not to be underestimated.

These are many and diverse, and include issues such asadministrative and nancial strain due to backlog oapplications. SMEs oten do not have HR and managerialexpertise or clerical assistance to deal with growingnumbers o applications and training sessions or businessconsultants, especially i the right to request were to beextended to all employees. Increasing the right to requestmay place many SMEs under signicant administrativestrain.

As the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group(APPSBG) took written and oral evidence, a number o veryclear themes emerged. These were:

There is still much conusion surrounding exibleworking and some small businesses are uncertain whatthe term actually reers to. Many SMEs oer exibleworking without realising it, while many others arereluctant to oer it, because o the lack o cleardenition.

For employees the benets o exible working are clear.But exible working can also hold benets oremployers, particularly in terms o retaining orrecruiting the skills and experience o workers whowant or need to reduce their working time and inproviding the employer with greater exibility in times

o economic difculty.

SMEs are more likely to use inormal practices tomanage exible working rather than ormal procedures,thus reducing bureaucracy or employees andemployers alike.

More and more legislation is being brought orward toenable employees to request exible working but thislegislation is not always necessary. Sometimes it justcreates an unnecessary administrative burden.

The possible extension o the right to request toeveryone could put even bigger strain on the SMEs,especially when the economy is beginning to emergerom recession.

Part-time workers are oten undervalued and it can bedifcult to nd agencies that cater or them, eventhough there are thousands o SMEs that could benetrom a part-time worker. Moreover, the part-timepositions which are available are overwhelminglyconcentrated at the lower end o the skills spectrum.Highly skilled proessionals have particular difcultynding part-time work and, as a result, are more likelyto work reelance, or drop out o the workplacealtogether.

The way the current benets system works otenmeans that people or couples are better o living o

benets than working. This means that SMEs aremissing out on valuable skills and experience and ndit difcult to ll in the vacancies with ewer hoursavailable.

From SMEs point o view, maintaining the right toreuse exible working request is crucial.

The Government itsel needs to be an exemplaremployer. It can do much to increase public condencein exible working by showing in practice how exibleworking can be a win-win or both employer andemployee.

There is a positive environmental angle to exibleworking, with ewer people needing to commute as theywork rom home, less ofce space needing to beresourced, or even just less congestion as people workstaggered hours.

This report uses the evidence received rom interestedparties to consider the ollowing key areas:

The possibility o extending the right to request toeveryone and how it would aect SMEs

The stigma surrounding part-time and exible workers

The impact o the nancial crisis on exible working inSMEs

The report makes 12 recommendations covering thechallenges that SMEs ace with regard to exible working.

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Summary oF rECommEndationS

Any extension o the right to request should be on avoluntary basis. SMEs need a transition period to check

their suitability or the scheme and to try out newworking models in practice. Flexible working needs tobe designed based on the business model o each SMEand the demands o the particular positions, rather thanbeing imposed through legislation. Although SMEs arepioneers in such arrangements, ormalising thesearrangements can oten place a signicantadministrative burden upon them which places them ata signicant competitive disadvantage.

The act that the request or exible time can be reusedon the basis o business needs should be publicisedand explained to reduce the concerns o business

owners and to improve understanding on the part oemployees. On the other side o the coin, millions oworkers are currently not aware o the existence orextent o the rights to request oered by theiremployers and the law.

The APPSBG, does not support a ull moratorium onemployment legislation, but recommends that SMEsand particularly micro rms need to be given a chanceto catch up with the current legislation and toimplement new rules. Any new legislation needs to bedesigned rom the bottom up using the think smallrst approach. The next three years should be abouthelping the SMEs nd their way out o the nancialcrisis.

Support and training needs to be directed specically toowners and to managers who supervise sta who workexibly.

The continued subsidised support and training ormanagers in SMEs is essential.

Government support or SMEs oering exible workingmust go beyond the advice provided by websites suchas Directgov and Business Link, which oten is not

reaching those it needs to reach. Support should bedirected through private sector business advisers suchas accountants, who already provide advice to smallbusinesses on a regular basis.

Jobcentre Plus needs to take a more active part inoering (and helping employers design) exible andpart-time jobs. It needs to be more sympathetic andsupportive to the employment needs o SMEs. Other

agencies must be rewarded or nding part-timeworkers in the same way they are rewarded or ulltimers. In particular, part-time work should not simplybe seen as something available to only low-skill workers.

The benets system is too inexible and does notsupport people who wish to work part-time. Thesituation, where couples are oten orced to take oneull-time job instead o two part-time ones because othe way benet system works, must change. Incentivesshould be provided, either through lower taxation orNational Insurance contributions, to incentivise peopleto work part-time, getting them o benets, and

providing SMEs with talented, skilled sta as needed.

The perception that exible working is an arrangementor parents and carers only needs to be challenged, as itcan cause resentment in the workplace among otheremployees.

More research in this area is needed. For example, theGovernment sponsored Employment Relations Surveyshould be continued with wider coverage a more regulartimetable. The survey is one o the ew that provideslarge-scale, statistically reliable insights into a broadrange o industrial relations and employment practices.

The survey was last completed back in 2004, and microbusinesses only surveyed or the rst time in that yeartoo. This means that there is currently a real dearth othorough longitudinal data which can show how smallbusinesses have responded to past legislation changes.


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This inquiry aims to examine both sides o the argumentand to produce recommendations that will enable smallbusinesses to comply ully with exible working legislationwithout being put at a competitive disadvantage.

SmallBusinessFirsts submission highlights this point:

Small businesses already recognise the benets oexible working and many have inormal arrangements inplace. But when the process is made into a ormal law itbecomes a lot more difcult or small businesses toprocess the requests. Small businesses aredisadvantaged by all employment law in comparison tobigger companies.4

In 2007 Imelda Walsh, the HR Manager o J Sainsbury plc,was asked by the then Department or Business,Enterprise and Regulatory Reorm (BERR, now theDepartment or Business, Innovation & Skills, BIS) to

conduct an independent review o exible working orparents and carers. Her report resulted in the extension othe law covering exible working, to parents o olderchildren in 2009. According to the nal report Flexibleworking: A review o how to extend the right to requestexible working to parents o older children

The argument against granting exible working request toall employees is that the current law allows employers tochoose how to best to introduce exible working practicesto their business. This may involve going beyond what thelaw requires or sticking with the minimum, but employersare ree to make this decision themselves.5

4. SmallBusinessFirst submission.

5. Imelda Walsh independent review, www.berr.gov.uk/les/le46092.pd


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SMEs account or 99.3% o all UK businesses, and 58% oprivate sector employment.6

Proessor Colin Coulson-Thomas points out in his

submission:

Small companies sometimes give a lead when it comesto adopting alternative ways o working.7

Since SMEs employ ewer people than larger companies,they are less likely to have access to legal advice andin-house HR departments than large corporations. Theworking environment in smaller companies encouragesmore personal relationships, especially between seniorand junior sta. This is why exible working in SMEs is sooten arranged on an inormal basis, and why SMEs aremore likely to approve any exible working requests.8

This is emphasised in CIPDs written evidence, whichstates that:

CIPD research supports the notion that the structure oSMEs means they are well placed to embrace exibleworking practices. SMEs are more likely to use inormalpractices to manage exible working rather than ormalprocedures, thus reducing bureaucracy or employeesand employers alike.9

Women Like Us, in their oral evidence go urther, sayingthat:

A lot o small businesses are just doing it[using exibleworking practices] and thats when it works best.

Inormal arrangements seem to work well or the SMEs.However, difculties can arise i there are disagreementsbetween employer and employee. The employee protectionissue is why many people support ormalising exibleworking within SMEs as well as or larger companies.Proessor Coulson-Thomas bears this out, stating in hisoral evidence that:

I one is protected, all should be protected across the board,whether they work or a large company or a small one.

On a similar note, Opportunity Now stated in oral evidencethat:

We have a problem with giving some employees rightsbut not others.

For exible working arrangements to become a norm thereneeds to be a shit in working culture and attitudes. TheLiberal Democrats submission to the inquiry emphasisesthat:

6. Federation o Small Businesses submission.7. Proessor Colin Coulson-Thomas submission.

8. http://www.berr.gov.uk/les/le49199.pd

9. CIPD submission.

Real change will only come i there is a change in theUKs working culture; many businesses do not currentlyunderstand the nancial benets o working exibly.Extending the right to request exible working to all

employees would help tackling the stigma some peopleattach to exible working and move away rom the culturewhere productivity is measured by number o hoursworked.10

In addition to this, the working culture may need time toadapt. Employees need to get used to sharing desks andworking away rom the ofce and this takes time. On theother hand, employees perormance needs to bemeasured not by the input o hours, or indeed by thembeing visible in the workplace, but by their actualachievements.

From SMEs point o view the right to reuse exible

working requests at a reasonable cost is crucial it isimportant to note that a disputed decision currently costsve times as much as an agreed one according to guresprovided by BIS11. Also, the exemption rom the right torequest or micro companies, similar to the Dutcharrangement, might be an ideal solution. The continuedsubsidised support and training or the managers in SMEsis also essential, and government itsel needs to be anexemplar employer. In its oral evidence to the inquiry,Women Like Us stated that:

Training or businesses is a two-pronged approach.Businesses need to be supported to be exible, but there

also needs to be specic line-manager training.

Kevin Arnold Associates states in its submission that:

It just involves some creative thinking to overcome theseissues, as well as sometimes, a change o mind setamongst employer and employees, management systemsbased on trust, and support or employees who are notworking exibly and who may have to ll any gaps or takeon more work on occasion.12

rECommEndation

Any extension o the right to request should be on avoluntary basis. SMEs need a transition period to checktheir suitability or the scheme and to try out new workingmodels in practice. Flexible working needs to be designedbased on the business model o each SME and the demandso the particular positions, rather than being imposedthrough legislation. Although SMEs are pioneers in sucharrangements, ormalising these arrangements can otenplace a signicant administrative burden upon them whichplaces them at a signicant competitive disadvantage.

10. Liberal Democrats, policy paper.


12. Kevin Arnold Associates.

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Many researchers and most o our respondents believethat exible working policies can have a positive impact oncustomer service, reduce sta absenteeism and stastress and thereore cut down sta turnover and

recruitment costs. These are undoubtedly the mainadvantages o the exible working or SMEs.

In their oral evidence to the inquiry, the Federation oSmall Businesses (FSB) stated that:

Employers in small businesses usually have a strongrelationship with employees and will take on boardexible working requests. They also acknowledgebenets, such as increased productivity, better moraleand less time o work.

During a nancial crisis, exible working can bring otheradvantages to the employer such as lower overhead costsand the possibility o decreasing sta hours rather thanmaking redundancies.

Lowering the overhead costs through exible workingcould be crucial or SMEs, especially during economicdifculties. Oering exible hours also could give SMEs anedge to attract the most valuable skills and talents, andenable them to hire talent that would otherwise beunaordable.

A recent survey by Working Mums13 showed that exibleworking arrangements are a key actor or 79% o workingmothers and that 85% o them would ideally have a

ull-time job with exible hours. Flexible hours were evenmore popular than working rom home. Women in suchsituations avoid long, unsociable hours but could still bringtheir experience into more exible SMEs. As Dinti Batstone,speaking on behal o the Liberal Democrats stated in heroral evidence that:

The key is to change the mindset rom threat toopportunity.

Setting up exible working is becoming easier every yearwith the availability o new technology. Furthermore,technological improvements can bring more benets to anSME than just those associated with exible working.Smallbusinesses.co.uk states in its submission:

You can start with a relatively small investment in thethings that will make the most immediate impact and addmore services as you choose. Bringing all yourcommunications together over a converged network canreduce the overall cost o your communications and driveyour business productivity.14

13. www.workingmums.co.uk/mums/work/618646/exible-working-is-

still-the-number-one-priority-or-mums.thtml

14. www.smallbusiness.co.uk/channels/business-insights/staying-

competitive/1072297/eight-myths-about-exible-working.thtml

Furthermore, distance working can also have positiveenvironmental consequences. SmallBusinessFirstssubmission highlights that:

As well as improving productivity, exible working canalso cut road congestion and overcrowding on publictransport, reducing travel time and making it a lessstressul part o the day or everyone. The approach isalso being hailed as a weapon in the ght against climatechange as it reduces the need to commute to theworkplace, meaning a reduction in carbon emissions anda all in energy consumption. With growing pressure romsociety, government and customers or businesses to actin an environmentally responsible way, exible workingcan be a useul rst step.15

The key point seems to be though, that, as highlighted bythe FSB in its oral evidence:

Small businesses need to be inormed that exibleworking is what works or the employees within thecontext o what works or the business.

rECommEndation

The act that the request or exible time can be reusedon the basis o business needs should be publicised andexplained to reduce the concerns o business owners andto improve understanding on the part o employees. Onthe other side o the coin, millions o workers are currentlynot aware o the existence or extent o the rights to request

oered by their employers and the law.

15. Small Business First submission.

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The FSB also said in their oral evidence to the inquiry:

There is still uncertainty about what exible workingmeans inormation and education are required.

Finally, Proessor Coulson-Thomas agreed in his oralevidence to the group, stating that:

There is a lot o hidden exibility that doesnt show. Itisnt always ormal and understood as exible working.

rECommEndation

The APPSBG, does not support a ull moratorium onemployment legislation, but recommends that SMEs andparticularly micro rms need to be given a chance to catchup with the current legislation and to implement new rules.Any new legislation needs to be designed rom the bottomup using the think small rst approach. The next threeyears should be about helping the SMEs nd their way outo the nancial crisis.


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The FSB stated clearly in their oral evidence that:

Some o the main issues that impact small businessesare uncertainty, legislation and regulation.

Bearing this in mind, Government support or SMEsoering exible working must go beyond the adviceprovided by websites such as Directgov or Business Link,and urther even than the insured employment lawhelpline proposed by the Anderson Review.

One part o this will be to raise awareness about the rightto request exible working and the entitlements andresponsibilities related to it. A recent Public AccountsCommittee (PAC) session reported that those caring orsick amily members experience difculties with ndingwork that will be compatible with their duties.19 I we bearin mind that Carers UK estimate the value o work thatcarers provide at 87 billion,20 it becomes clear thatraising awareness is a key point. On the other side o thisargument, employers must be aware that they are allowedto reuse the request or exible working, i it is potentiallydamaging or their business.

I plans are brought in, as seems likely at some point in theuture, to extend the right to request to all employees,SMEs must be supported by a wide range o governmentalinitiatives. Women Like Us suggest the ollowing:

Part time job brokerage schemes or business undedthrough BIS

Part time Local Employment Partnerships supportedby Jobcentre Plus

Focusing on a scheme to train management inmanaging part time roles

National Insurance reductions or each new part-timejob

Subsidies/Golden handshakes or creating part timeroles (modelled on the current golden handshakesrom the Department or Work and Pensions tobusinesses or taking on long term unemployed)

To have a national dedicated resource/agency or parttime work.21

19. www.workingmums.co.uk/mums/news/624511/carers-ignorant-about-right-to-request-exible-working.thtml

20. http://www.carersuk.org/Aboutus/Howwehelp/Gatheringhardevidence

21. Women Like Us submission.

The Government has introduced a number o laws onexible working especially or parents, but it has in manyways ailed to understand the special needs o the SMEsand their business models. Since they began in 2000, the

FSBs bi-annual members surveys have ound thataccountants are a small business rst choice adviser,providing a trusted source o support and advice. BIS hasalso ound that accountants are the primary source oadvice on employment law or micro enterprises andstart-ups22. SMEs could benet rom special trainingcourses explaining the existing legislation and outlining themost suitable ways o implementing it, but many o themdo not have time to send their sta on them. That is whysupport could be directed to well-trained and legally awareprivate sector business advisers such as accountants, whoalready provide advice to small businesses on a regularbasis. This should enable SMEs to choose the best legalsolution or their distinctive needs. According to the CIPD:

Flexible working will look very dierent betweenorganisations and allowing businesses to nd a rameworkthat suits their context will create a exible workingculture ar more successully than by imposing legislativeminimums.23

The BCCs submission states that, while the right torequest exible working might be a possibility in theuture, the next three years should be more about helpingthe SMEs nd their way out o the nancial crisis. SMEsand micro rms need to be given a chance to catch upwith the current legislation and implement new rules.

Beore introducing the right to request in legislation, theGovernment should have introduced the right to requestconcept as a voluntary scheme, allowing the businesses tochoose whether it is appropriate or them.24

Any extension o the right to request should be introducedon a voluntary basis, which would give SMEs a chance totest the waters and decide whether exible working suitstheir business model.

The FSBs view, outlined in their oral evidence, is that:

We are in a heavily regulated environment already. There

is regulation there that has teeth. The question is: do weneed more? Our view is no, but we should be doing moreto educate.


23. CIPD submission.

24. The British Chamber o Commerce submission.

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The CIPD stated in their oral evidence that:

Legislation has had a powerul impact in encouragingexible working it has broken the back o the issue. But

now is not the time to increase the legislation whenemployers are already doing it.

The Liberal Democrat submission states that the right torequest exible working was a success in the Netherlandsand should be introduced in the UK. The right to requestin the Netherlands was extended to everyone through theAdjustment o Hours Law. Additionally, Dutch employers arenot allowed to ask or the reason behind the request 25.However, it is signicant that the Dutch maintained theright or employers to reuse the request and that the lawexempted companies with ewer than 10 employeesproviding that they have their own policy on the issue.

Dinti Batstone, or the Liberal Democrats, stressed theimportance o Government and the public sectorshowcasing exible working. Ms Batstone stated in oralevidence that:

Education is very important, but so is championing bestpractice. Government would be ar more persuasive i itwere leading by example beore preaching to smallbusiness.

The difculties that the extension o the right to requestcould pose are also highlighted by Imelda Walsh, whostates in her report that:

Many employers told me that i the law was extended toall employees, they would receive a greater number orequests to work exibly ... This would undoubtedly leadto more requests having to be turned down or businessreasons. It would also burden employers with thedifculty o prioritising which requests to accept whichcase was the most deserving.26

Working Families supports extending exible working morewidely:

Flexible working allows parents to be both good parentsand good employees. But to achieve real culture changeto benet business and amilies, we want to see exibleworking extended as widely as possible. Flexible workingworks best when it is made available to everyone.27

25. Improving Work-Lie Balance - What Are Other Countries Doing?

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/

lp/spila/wlb/pd/improving-work-lie-balance.pd

26. Imelda Walsh independent review, www.berr.gov.uk/les/le46092.pd

27. www.workingamilies.org.uk/images/press_releases/Queens+speech+

preview+on+R2R+14th+May.doc

An important actor in this, outlined by Working Families,would be training sessions or managers who supervisesta who work exibly. The key to the success o sucharrangements is communication and teamwork, especially

when many employees are working out o ofce. The roleo line managers is especially important as they are mostlikely to be inormally approached with requests or exiblework.

Working Families noted in their submission:

Best practice exible working occurs when the wholeteam works together to balance the needs o the businesswith the needs o employees to work particular patterns.Successul exible working needs to be built into teammanagement and employee appraisal.28

rECommEndationS

Support and training needs to be directed specically toowners and to managers who supervise sta who workexibly.

The continued subsidised support and training ormanagers in SMEs is essential.

28. Working Families submission.


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The economic downturn has had an undeniable impact onthe job market, but submissions to this report suggest thatthe crisis has made exible working arrangements morepopular. Kevin Arnold Associates states that:

Flexible working has come into its own in the recession,with poll ater poll suggesting that most companies haveconsidered it as a way o reducing costs and saving jobs .29

In their oral evidence, FSB highlighted a similar point,stating that:

The recession has identied to small businesses, some othe benets o exible working that they were unaware oand once they have understood this, they are unlikely togo back. Having exibility enables small businesses toreact quickly to t requirements.

Opportunity Now made a similar point in oral evidence:

There has been some use o exible working as amechanism or reducing overheads. It will be interestingto see how that pans out once the recession is over.

And Proessor Coulson-Thomas, in his oral evidence, goesurther, stating that:

In an attempt to stay alive, a lot o businesses, especiallysmall businesses, have looked to exible working encouraging people to take sabbaticals, work part-time orto take a our day week, to help them make it through the

recession.

However, SMEs are oten wary o the nancial restraintsthat exible working could cause them. One o the mainconcerns or SMEs is the nancial and administrativestrain as well as the amount o time that the processingrequests or exible arrangements could take. On the otherhand, the additional administrative cost o exible workingarrangements could be seen as much less signicant thenthe potential benets. Furthermore, good administrationand management should minimalise any backlog.

The FSBs view on this, outlined in their oral evidence, isthat:

The need to write ormal letters is inconsistent with theopen lines o communication in small businesses. Theregulation is an administrative burden and it overlookswhat really happens in small businesses.

29. Kevin Arnold Associates submission.

From many o the submissions received to this inquiry, itappears that many employers would welcome the removalo the obligation to send an ofcial letter every time theexible working scheme is approved. This is linked to the

very inormal nature o exible working arrangementsemployed by many SMEs. However, many also underlinethe importance o keeping track o all the agreements andarrangements and point out that the savings would beminimal. Imelda Walshs review also supports the idea othe letter being sent on the request rom the employee orwhen the exi time application is reused.

Looking at the benets system, it becomes clear that thecurrent set-up does not support people who wish to workpart-time. As pointed out by the Ingeus submission, peoplecan be better o staying on benets than accepting minior part-time jobs. It is also more benecial or couples tosecure one ull-time job than two part-time jobs, which

could seriously disadvantage one partners careerprogression. In addition, Working Tax Credit eligibility doesnot include people working mini-jobs below 16 hours aweek. These are issues that need to be addressed. Ingeusstated in its written evidence that:

Being nancially better o in work is a primary concernor most benet claimants. Clearly demonstrating to anindividual how work will increase their income is anessential element o welare-to-work provision. Whileworkless individuals may recognise the broader social anddevelopmental benets o working, they are unlikely to bein a position to accept work that would make them

nancially worse o.30

CIPD highlighted this in their oral evidence, stating that:

The benets system is pretty inexible in terms o thingssuch as letting people sample jobs. We should look atexibility around the edges o the benets system itwould be quite a small price to pay or the chance ogetting people o benets.

Women Like Us also reer to this issue in their submission:

The benet system values jobs that are 16hrs and more.There is value in jobs o less and this needs to be

reected in the benet system.31

In his oral evidence, Proessor Coulson-Thomas stated onthis issue that:

The benets system is amazingly complex. We need tolook at what are the barriers, whether its taxation orlegislation, to incentivising people to work part-time.

30. Ingeus submission.


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And in their oral evidence, BCC added that:

Lower taxes or reductions in National Insurancecontributions are much better than subsidies such as the

Golden Hello, which is a big nancial loss or theGovernment and did not encourage job creation as it washoped.

Specically in terms o accessing part-time workers, thiscan oten thereore, prove difcult. According to WomenLike Us oral evidence, there are around 500,000 peoplewho are looking or part-time work, but:

Recruiters are disincentivised rom ocussing on part-timepositions.

Since SMEs are much more likely to oer part-timepositions than larger companies, with between a quarterand a third o sta in SMEs working part time, SMEs areput at a disadvantage by these issues with the benetssystem, and are potentially missing out on talent and skills.

The FSB state in their submission:

There is already a greater prevalence o part time workingin small businesses; according to the FSB employmentsurvey 60 percent o small businesses owners alwaysconsidered whether a job could be part time when theyare recruiting.32

Furthermore, Opportunity Nows submission states that

among SMEs:

The most requently reported exibility was part time/reduced hours and home working, implemented by 95%o respondents.

SMEs may nd it difcult to ll their vacancies i they havepositions entailing ewer than 16 hours or less per week tooer. To tackle that situation, potential employees need tohave a clear nancial incentive to come back to work.

Women Like Us state in their submission:

While workless individuals may recognise the broadersocial and developmental benets o working, they areunlikely to be in a position to accept work that wouldmake them nancially worse o. 33

32. Federation o Small Businesses submission.

33. Ingeus submission.

The recruitment process remains largely unaected byexible working legislation. The right to request is onlyavailable to those who have been with the company or 26weeks or longer. Furthermore, recruitment agencies are

oten reluctant to seek part-time workers because theygain only hal o their usual commission or the sameamount o work. Nevertheless, many agencies specialisingin part-timer workers have been established over recentyears. Jobcentre Plus is still lagging behind in oeringpart-time positions. In their oral evidence, the BCC statedon this issue that:

The account managers at Jobcentre Plus arent interestedin the average micro business.

CIPD also raised the issue o Jobcentre Plus, stating that:

Small businesses dont bother using the Jobcentre maybe they should, but they typically use networks ratherthan ormal outlets. They are oten very worried aboutrecruitment ull stop.

And the FSB concurred with this view, stating in oralevidence that:

Small businesses dont use the Jobcentre. They preerword o mouth o the local newspaper. They need morecondence in the Jobcentre it is not suited to smallbusiness needs.

rECommEndationS

Government support or SMEs oering exible workingmust go beyond the advice provided by websites such asDirectgov and Business Link, which oten is not reachingthose it needs to reach. Support should be directedthrough private sector business advisers such asaccountants, who already provide advice to smallbusinesses on a regular basis.

Jobcentre Plus needs to take a more active part in oering(and helping employers design) exible and part-time jobs.It needs to be more sympathetic and supportive to theemployment needs o SMEs. Other agencies must berewarded or nding part-time workers in the same waythey are rewarded or ull timers. In particular, part-timework should not simply be seen as something available toonly low-skill workers.

The benets system is too inexible and does not supportpeople who wish to work part-time. The situation, wherecouples are oten orced to take one ull-time job insteado two part-time ones because o the way benet systemworks, must change. Incentives should be provided, eitherthrough lower taxation or National Insurance contributions,to incentivise people to work part-time, getting them obenets, and providing SMEs with talented, skilled sta asneeded.


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The role o the Government in promoting exible workingis invaluable. However, their assistance should not belimited to legislation. There can also be disadvantages oexible working or employees. A key issue is the

promotion o equality and diversity in the workplace andchanging the workplace culture.

Opportunity Now stated in their oral evidence to theinquiry that:

Flexibility in jobs has moved orward a lot. One o thethings I hear a lot is that women dont want to work less,they want to work dierently.

According to Women Like Us, the hourly earning gapbetween ull-time and part-time workers persists and islikely to aect women more then men, indeed, the latestgures on this have recently been released by ONS34.Women Like Us state that:

The evidence is clear that a part time worker earns lessper hour than a ull time. O ten this is due to the lowerpaid sectors that part time work is ound in and we needto work with employers to nd opportunities or a rangeo part time work across sectors.35

However, the FSB in oral evidence stated that:

There is eective regulation in place to protect part-timeworkers rom being paid less than ull-time workers.Part-time and ull-time workers should be paid the same.

Opportunity Nows view in oral evidence on this point wasthat:

One o the key things that mitigates against a pay gap istransparency.

On another point, Opportunity Now highlights the act thatexible working is still oten perceived as being somethingor mums, saying in their oral evidence that:

We need to move away rom this and recognise that weare all working exibly now to some extent.

They later added that:

Most employers now oer exible working to anyemployee that can make a business case or this. Why theperson wants exible working is neither here not there,really.

34. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=15313


Women oten believe that requesting exible workinghours could curb their career chances. There is an existingperception, that high yer jobs cannot be perormed bypart-timers or exi workers. This needs to be challenged.

In his oral evidence, Proessor Colin Coulson-Thomas toldthe group that:

Oten, ull-timers know each other, socialise and get thepromotions and exible, part-time and home workers aremore peripheral. It neednt be like that, but oten thepart-timers miss out on the promotions and networking.

In their oral evidence, the BCC highlighted the difcultiesaced by those in more senior positions, in terms o exibleworking, stating that:

Smaller businesses can nd part-time working at a highlevel very difcult, but there are other options such asexible shit-patterns.

The comparative review on exible working or the Equalityand Human Rights Commission36 (EHRC) conrms thatthose in senior positions are much less likely to requestthe exible arrangements and i they do they are morelikely to be reused.

Opportunity Now noted in their submission:

There is no relationship between skill set and exibleworking. Employees with broad skill sets will work anynumber o dierent working patterns and jobs requiring

broad skill sets do not have to be done on a traditionalull time basis.37

The Women Like Us submission also highlighted that somesenior positions, which require complex skills, could besplit into two jobs or two employees with dierent skill-sets. Obviously this can be difcult in certain industries;especially in client acing roles. Thereore, exible workingarrangements should be designed based on companyneeds and role specications. One universal model will nott all.

On the other hand, athers are also oten discriminatedagainst in terms o exible hours. The Imelda Walsh reportclaims that men are twice as likely to have their applicationreused as women. The UKs sot approach limits thetransormative power o new working culture and stopsmen rom taking greater responsibilities in domestic lie.On the other hand, the 2009 extension o paternity rights,which allows the second six months o maternity leave tobe shared between parents, should improve atherssituation.

36. http://edit.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publicationsandresources/

Pages/Flexibleworkingpoliciesacomparativereview.aspx

37. Opportunity Now submission.

7. Eq ves


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It also marks a step orward in terms o changing theattitudes o employers to new parents. Gender inequalityin the workplace is estimated to cost the UK a staggering23bn. We cannot aord to carry on throwing away money

and talent like this.38

Dinti Batstone, on behal o the Liberal Democrats, statedin her oral evidence that men need equal access to exibleworking to play a greater role in child-rearing. She arguedthat current maternity/paternity leave arrangementsdiscriminate against men and push women into becomingthe primary child-carers:

Women will never be equal and ree in the workplaceuntil men are equal and ree in the amily.

Ms Batstone added that:

One o the proposals in our policy paper is to give theoption o parental leave to either the mother or the ather we leave it to the couple to decide.

The newest research by The EHRC highlighted that athersare oten unable to cut down their hours due to thenancial needs o their amily. However, exible working isoten the next best thing.

The Working Better: Fathers, Family and Work Contemporary Perspectives report concluded that:

The overwhelming majority (96 per cent) o athers who

were working exibly valued their working arrangements,while two thirds (66 per cent) o all athers consideredthe availability o exible working to be important whenlooking or a new job.

On the other hand the same report highlighted that:

While nearly one in three athers (32 per cent) said thatnothing would stop them asking or exible working,equal numbers said that being marked out as notcommitted to their jobs, or the thought that it wouldnegatively aect their chances o promotion, would stopthem rom making a request.39

38. Working Families comment on PMs announcement on new leave or

athers, www.workingamilies.org.uk/images/APL%20response%20sept%2015th%2009.doc

39. Working Better: Fathers, Family and Work Contemporary Perspect ives,

www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_les/research/athers_work_

and_care_paper.doc

For the Liberal Democrats, Dinti Batstone highlighted therole o exible working in enabling skilled workers to keepa hand in during child-rearing years, thereby making aull return to work later on.

It is worth noting that exible working can be particularlyhelpul or countries dealing with ageing populations. Withexible working arrangements allowing people to work orlonger, older people can continue to contribute their skillsto society while helping to ease the pensions burden.

In his oral evidence to the inquiry, Proessor Coulson-Thomas had the nal word on this issue, stating that:

We have masses o wasted talent in our society, peoplewho have a whole range o skills, and business is reallymissing out because they are not able or encouraged togo back to work.

rECommEndation

The perception that exible working is an arrangement orparents and carers only needs to be challenged, as it cancause resentment in the workplace among otheremployees.


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Flexible working can benet business and the workorceis becoming increasingly keen on having a work-liebalance to suit its needs.

Many organisations have already recognised the businessbenets o exible working practices, which include staproductivity and motivation and lower overheads. On alarger scale, exible working arrangements can also cutdown on emissions caused by commuting and ofce spaceand can reduce congestion as ewer people need to headto the ofce at the same time.

Indeed, many SMEs already employ exible workingpractices, although oten, they do not recognise the termexible working and can see it as a threat.

Legislation is also driving change, with the right to requestbeing increased in April 2009, or example, to parents oall children aged 16 and under. However, althoughemployers must consider these requests on their merits, itis vital that businesses, especially SMEs, remain able toturn them down i they are likely to damage the business.

For exible working patterns to continue developing, muchsupport needs to be given to smaller companies. Allemployment law should be designed rst with smallbusiness in mind, and then adapted to the needs o largercompanies, rather than the other way round, and this istrue o legislation and guidance relating to exible working.

Ultimately, SMEs are the engine that will get the countrys

economy back on track, but they need to be supported indoing so.

Perhaps two o the key points to take rom this inquiry are:

a) SMEs are already using exible working, but theyoten do not use this term.

b) Employers do not always understand what theirrights and responsibilities are i they utilise exibleworking practices. They may be more open to theprospect o exible working i they did.

As CIPD stated in their oral evidence:

Small rms dont have to be rightened o exibleworking. It can be a good thing, and many o them arealready doing it, but there is no need or more legislationin this area at this time.

8. Ccs

rECommEndation

More research in this area is needed. For example, theGovernment sponsored Employment Relations Survey

should be continued with wider coverage a more regulartimetable. The survey is one o the ew that provideslarge-scale, statistically reliable insights into a broad rangeo industrial relations and employment practices. Thesurvey was last completed back in 2004, and microbusinesses only surveyed or the rst time in that year too.This means that there is currently a real dearth othorough longitudinal data which can show how smallbusinesses have responded to past legislation changes.


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British Chamber o Commerce

Chartered Institute o Personnel and Development (CIPD)

Federation o Small Businesses

Proessor Colin Coulson-Thomas

Ingeus

Kevin Arnold Associates

Liberal Democrats, Policy Paper

Opportunity Now

Small Business First

Women Like Us

Working Families

aex: s espes


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PaMr-DP-FWC

aCCa 29 Lincolns Inn Fields London WC2A 3EE United Kingdom / tel: +44 (0)20 7059 5000 / www accaglobal com

Flexible Working Report

Documents

Transcript of Flexible Working Report