Press Story

UK employers are missing out on top talent because they do not allow workers to vary their start times or take an hour or two off at short notice, according to a new report from IPPR published today. The report shows that two thirds (64 per cent) of working women in the UK are unable to vary their start and finishing times, while a quarter (25 per cent) say they find it difficult to take one or two hours off work to attend to personal matters at short notice.

The report is the first in a series of work supported by the global JPMorgan Chase New Skills at Work initiative. The European component of the programme was announced in April alongside IPPR as lead research partner.

The new report argues that the UK has a particular problem with a lack of part-time work in highly skilled jobs for highly qualified workers. But the report also says that a lack of flexibility in full-time jobs is excluding highly qualified mothers from full-time work, many of whom are on a 'mummy track', working part-time in jobs that are below their skill level. It argues that simply expanding part-time work will not be enough to stop employers missing out on top talent.

The report shows that, while the proportion of female workers in the UK who can determine their own hours are comparable with other European economies, half as many UK working women (19 per cent) are able to adapt their hours, compared to women working in Sweden (41 per cent) and the Netherlands (38 per cent). The report argues that this lack of autonomy is detrimental to both employers and employees.

The report also shows that women who work part-time in the UK are seven times more likely to let care duties dictate their working hours than men working part-time. More than two-fifths (42 per cent) of women who work part-time do so primarily to take care of children or disabled adults, compared to just 6 per cent of men.

The report shows that a third of women working part-time in the UK are not happy with the amount of hours they work. A quarter (25 per cent) of women working part-time in the UK (say they want to work fewer hours, while more than one in ten (13 per cent) say they want to work more hours. IPPR's modelling shows that the net fiscal gain to the Treasury of a five-percentage-point increase in the proportion of mothers in full-time work in the UK could be £700 million per year in extra taxes and fewer benefit payments.

Dalia Ben-Galim, IPPR Associate Director, said:

"Employers are missing out on top talent and highly qualified women are working in low-skilled jobs. That's a missed opportunity for both employers and employees.

"How work is arranged, and employees' level of autonomy over working hours, can have a big impact on how well people reconcile paid work with other commitments. An important indicator for flexibility is how employees' hours are set, and who has control over this. For example, fixed starting times set by an employer may conflict with the varying and changing needs of families.

"Flexible working in its current, reduced-hours form, simply isn't flexible enough. The prevalence of rigid scheduling, especially in low-income jobs, often means that even reduced-hours work is not sufficient for meeting the more spontaneous demands of care-giving."

Notes to Editors

IPPR's new report – Women and flexible working- will be available from Friday 26 December from: http://www.ippr.org/publications/women-and-flexible-working-improving-female-employment-outcomes-in-europe

Statistics in this release are IPPR analysis of the EU labour force survey and the European Working Conditions Survey.

The JPMorgan Chase New Skills at Work programme in Europe is a three-year, $30 million initiative which aims to identify strategies and support solutions that help improve labour market infrastructure and develop the skilled workforce globally. The initiative brings together leading policymakers, academics, business leaders, educators, training providers and nonprofits with the goal of connecting labour market policy with practice, supply with demand and employers with the workforce – all to strengthen the global economy. The overall programme is a five-year $250milion initiative, the largest-ever private-sector effort aimed at addressing the "skills gap" that exists across many industries globally.

The report highlights the German Familienpflegezeit ('family caring time') scheme, which allows employees to reduce their working time (and income) over a fixed period in order to care for a dependent. Under this scheme, when employees return to full-time work after having children, they continue to receive a reduced income until they have 'paid back' the difference. In practice this means that if, for example, an employee reduces her or his hours from full-time to half-time for two years, she or he will receive 75 per cent of their full-time income over a four-year period. This insurance-type income-smoothing scheme provides the flexibility that employees require while protecting them against fluctuations in their income, and gives assurance and stability to employers.

Contacts

24-26 Dec: Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

27-29 Dec: Sofie Jenkinson, 07981 023 031, s.jenkinson@ippr.org

30 Dec–1 Jan: Tessa Evans, 07875 727 298, t.evans@ippr.org

2-4 Jan: Tim Finch, 07595 920899, t.finch@ippr.org