Around half of Britain’s employees are facing inequality due to a stark difference in employers’ approaches to flexible working, confirmed new research from the CIPD.
Research from the professional body for HR and people development reveals that around half (46%) of employees say they do not have flexible working arrangements – such as flexi-time, part-time working, compressed hours or job shares – in their current role. The survey of over 2,000 employees found that while the Covid-19 pandemic has driven a huge increase in working from home, 44% of employees have not worked from home at all since the beginning of the crisis. The majority of those employees (92%) say that this is because the nature of their job doesn’t allow them to.
FLEXIBLE WORK: THE REALITIES
CIPD’s findings also revealed that:
- Around a fifth (19%) of employees say they work for organisations that do not offer any flexible working arrangements.
- More than two in five (41%) employees say it’s unfair that some people can work from home while others have to continue to attend their place of work and have little flexibility in how they work.
- Three quarters (75%) of employees agree that it is important that people who can’t work from home can work flexibly in other ways.
- Less than a third (30%) of the 2,000 employers surveyed by the CIPD are planning to try to increase the uptake of other forms of flexible working besides home working over the next six to 12 months. In contrast, nearly half of organisations (47%) plan to take steps to enable more home and hybrid working over the same period.
Additionally, the research shows there is also a significant gap between the arrangements employees currently use compared to those that they would use if offered. Just 21% of employees currently use Flexi-time, yet 39%, desire it. And just 19% staff make use of part-time hours (4 days or less), while 28% desire it. Just 3% of employees reported that they currently use compressed hours (working full-time hours in fewer days), while 19% would use this arrangement if available.
FAIR FLEXIBLE WORKING RIGHTS
In response to the findings – and in a bid to promote fairness and inclusion at work – the CIPD has launched its #FlexFrom1st campaign. The new campaign encourages employers to support flexible working for all and the right to request flexible working from day one of employment. Currently, employees can only make a request for flexible working after 26 weeks of employment. Additionally, employees can only make such requests once every 12 months.
“While many have hailed the pandemic as a driver for the adoption of flexible working practices, particularly around home working, the reality for many is that this is not the case,” pointed out Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the CIPD. “We need a new understanding about what flexible working is and we need employers to embrace flexible working arrangements beyond home working, to give opportunity and choice to all. Employees may not always be able to change where they work, but they should have more choice and a say in when and how they work.”
FLEXIBLE WORK BEYOND HOMEWORKING
The CIPD is therefore calling for:
- Employers to implement internal policies that allow their employees to request flexible working from day one of employment.
- Employers to stipulate that jobs can be done flexibly in job adverts, to attract more candidates who are looking for flexible roles.
- The government to make the right to request flexible working a right from day one for all employees, as well as revisiting the business reasons for rejection and the 12-month timeframe.
The Government has committed to launching a consultation on broadening access to flexible working, although this would only cover Great Britain. Employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland and the CIPD encourages the Northern Ireland Executive to also implement this change. To reinforce these principles, the CIPD is also calling for a change in law to make the right to request flexible working a day-one right for all employees.
Encouragingly, CIPD’s research found that half of employers (50%) say they will be more likely to grant requests for flexible working, besides working from home, once the pandemic restrictions have been relaxed. Therefore, an enhanced right to request flexible working from day one of employment could boost the number of people using flexible work arrangements.
EMPOWERING THE WORKFORCE
Cheese believes that being able to build in flexible working arrangements, such as changes to hours, term-time working or job shares, “will empower people to have greater control and flexibility in their working life”. “This is good for inclusion and opening up opportunities to people who have other constraints in being able to work standard hour weeks or in getting to a place of work,” noted Cheese. “But it’s also good for people’s wellbeing and productivity. Fairness of opportunity in working flexibly ensures organisations do not end up with divisions or a two-tier workforce.”
The CIPD is encouraging organisations to work in collaboration with their employees to find flexible solutions that are mutually beneficial. Employees who have flexibility report significantly higher levels of satisfaction with their job, work-life balance and control over their work. In addition, when businesses embrace flexible working they will reap the benefits through increased productivity, employee retention and attracting diverse talent when recruiting. Peabody, the London housing association, is currently overhauling its approach to flexible working and removing the process of formal flexible working requests. It believes this will empower staff to agree flexible working arrangements with line managers and team, rather than making a formal request through HR.
FLEXIBLE WORKING BENEFITS
Commenting on its new approach, Andrea Gordon, Director of HR at Peabody stated: “Flexible working is very important to us, that is why our newly relaunched people strategy has been developed based on what our people have told us matters to them. Our ambition is to deliver a new approach that will bring a better work-life balance, increased performance and productivity, more fulfilling roles, a more diverse employee population, better physical and mental wellbeing and increased employee engagement.”
Ultimately, she believes that’s how the company will achieve its group strategy and business goals. “We fully support the CIPD’s Flex From 1st campaign as we believe everyone should have a right to request flexible working from day one,” added Gordon.
Click here for more information on the #FlexFrom1st campaign.
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