Women are more likely to be offered flexible working than men.
A survey conducted by Tiger Recruitment found that 36 per cent of women are being offered remote or home working compared to 17 per cent of men. It also found that informal flexible working is offered more to women than men at 21 per cent vs 13 per cent as well as part-time working with 20 per cent vs 11 per cent.
Also, less than a third (32 per cent) of workers are not satisfied with the flexible working options being offered to them. Only 22 per cent are offered the option of flexi-time, 19 per cent are offered informal flexible working and 18 per cent are given the opportunity to go part-time.
Labour has announced that if they win the 2019 General Election they will enforce a flexible “workplace revolution” where staff can set their own hours.
The Government introduced the Flexible Working Regulations in 2014 which gives all employees the right to request flexible working. As well as the Flexible Working Taskforce which was established in 2018, which is a campaign to increase the uptake of flexible working. The task force consists of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Chartered Management Institution (CMI), Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Age UK, Carers UK, Timewise Foundation, Working Families, Acas, the Department for Work and Pensions and HM treasury.
David Morel, CEO of Tiger Recruitment said:
Despite numerous initiatives to show the value of flexible working for both employers and employees, it’s disappointing that so many workplaces are still struggling to embrace flexibility. Flexible working shouldn’t be seen as an inconvenience, as a benefit that is only open to women, or just relevant to parents, but as something that can help all employees to boost their wellbeing and job satisfaction. Happy employees are engaged employees, and engagement boosts productivity, so it really is a win-win for all involved.
In order to gather these results, Tiger Recruitment asked 2,000 UK employees.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
