Flexible working arrangements – Why are women more likely to work flexibly?
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) have found that women are more likely to have flexible working arrangements and therefore have their salaries reduced.
What impact does this have on employers?
What is flexible working?
Flexible working can include working from home, job sharing, and compressed hours. It also includes both part-time and term-time work.
Flexible working can impact the hours and pay of the employees meaning they work less and earn less.
However, some forms of flexible work like home working and compressed hours can mean workers can continue to work full-time and not lose hours or pay.
Across the UK, millions of workers are classed as flexible workers.
What does the research show?
The new research by the TUC shows that women are more likely to work in these arrangements meaning they work fewer hours for a reduced salary.
The research points to the uneven distribution of childcare in the home as to why women are more likely to work in these arrangements.
Part-time working is the most common flexible working arrangement for women, this is followed by term-time working. Job sharing is the least common form of flexible working, but women are still three times more likely than men to work in this way.
What can employers do?
The Government have asked businesses to open up flexible working in all industries where possible. This includes unlocking the flexibility in jobs based on hours and location flexibilities.
The Government is aiming to make flexible working a legal right from the first day on the job, but this is still under consideration.
It has also suggested that there shouldn’t be a limit on how many times you can request flexible working arrangements.
What if employers cannot accommodate flexible working?
There are rules which apply for flexible working. Employers may ask employees to use a standard form to make an application.
If the employer does not agree with the application, they must write to the employee giving the business reasons for the refusal.
Employees may be able to complain to an employment tribunal if they feel they have been denied a flexible working opportunity.
These requests can only be made where a person has worked continuously for the same employer for the last 26 weeks and only one request can be made each year.
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