There is a sound case for promoting flexible working more during the economic crisis, says campaign group Working Families.
The organisation launched a briefing paper this week which puts the case for flexible working and includes case studies of businesses which have introduced flexible smarter working practices as a result of the recession.
Sarah Jackson, Chief Executive of Working Families comments: “Difficult times call for bold thinking. Flexible working is one of the most effective tools which a business can use to retain staff; to avoid the costs, complexity and risk of redundancies; and to focus on maintaining motivation, commitment and performance.
Firms 'need to be imaginative' in their response to the downturn
Redundancy should be the last resort in the economic downturn, say PricewaterhouseCoopers.
They suggest companies should be looking at flexible working, job-share arrangements, reduced hours and pay cuts as alternatives to redundancies. Other options include evaluating the merits of secondments, sabbaticals and international assignment policies.
If firms are more imaginative in their handling of the crisis, says PricewaterhouseCoopers, the post-crisis office could work very differently from the current one.
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Remote working on the rise as recession kicks in
More and more firms are looking at homeworking in order to cut overheads, improve productivity and retain staff, according to a report in Personnel Today. The magazine also reports that flexible work is undergoing a bounceback as employers are turning to it in an effort to stave off redundancies and work smarter during the recession.
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Working mums the least likely to take sickies
Working mums are the least likely group to take sick leave, according to a survey by herbal remedy Sambucol.
It also found those working in customer services were the least likely profession to take time off.
The survey of 3,000 people found that on average people work four days a year when they should be at home recovering from bugs.
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Nursery standards fall in deprived areas
Standards in nurseries in deprived areas are falling while those in wealthy areas are improving, the Guardian reports.
Ofsted's 2006/7 report shows 6.6% of day nurseries in the most deprived areas were failing - a year later this had jumped to 10% while in the most wealthy areas the number of nurseries failing in 2007/8 was just 4.7%, down from 6% the year before.
The reasons for failures include overstaffing, lack of proper vetting of staff and inadequate safety procedures.
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