Are women more affected by the recession?

Date: 3 Feb 2009

Are women bearing the brunt of the recession? The issue is dividing Government – it has been raised at the Government’s National Economic Council and statistics show that the number of women in full time work has fallen by 53,000 in the last quarter compared to 36,000 for men. However, the Department for Work and Pensions says more men are being made redundant and are unemployed and many women are choosing to work part time.

Concerns have been expressed that the Government’s package for countering the effects of the recession is focused too much on “male” industries, while “female” industries such as retail have had less Government support.

Equalities minister Harriet Harman has voiced fears that employers may discriminate against women in the recession because of new legislation on flexible working and maternity leave. She and solicitor general Vera Baird are devising a strategy across Government departments to counteract discrimination against women in the workplace and are said to be considering inserting non-statutory powers in the new Equalities Bill to tackle any rise in discrimination due to the recession.

Equal opportunities recession
For employment lawyer Sarah Turner of Turner Parkinson LLP in Manchester part of the reason women may seem to have been hit harder by this recession than previous ones in the 80s and 90s is simply that more women are working because families need two incomes to meet mortgage and other costs. “In that way it is an equal opportunities recession because women are affected as much as men,” she says.

It may also appear that women are more affected as among the first industries to be hit are women-dominated ones such as retail, hospitality and service industries.

However, Turner adds that family friendly legislation, such as increased maternity leave, adoption leave, flexible working and parental leave are seen as “very costly to small businesses”. “Many do not see flexible working as a benefit,” she says, despite research showing that it increases performance and productivity. “There are concerns that the recession could set equal opportunities back,” she warns.

However, she says she has not noted any increase in women claiming discrimination in recent months. She advises employers on fair procedure, including around redundancies. She says that with regard to flexible working, employers may be more able to justify not agreeing to flexible working on business grounds because of the recession. But, on the other hand, she believes the recession could open some employers’ eyes to the benefits of flexible working if they have to reduce hours to save jobs.

Redundancies
Turner also advises companies on the correct procedure for making redundancies. She says the criteria they choose must be objective, such as disciplinary records, attendance records and appraisals. But they should steer clear of things like long periods of absence for sickness or disability.

She says the most common questions she gets from employers are around the timescales needed for the redundancy consultation process. For big companies employing more than 100 people, companies need to allow nearly three months for consultation on redundancy plans. For companies employing 20 or more people, they need 30 days and for those employing less than 20 people they need to leave a reasonable period.

She says those companies making more than 30 people redundant tend to have to rely on objective measures to show they are following due process. For smaller numbers, companies usually have a person in mind and “there is a potential risk that the selection criteria they use may be weighted to ensure that person is selected”.

She warns that, although most companies seek professional advice on redundancies, some think they can cut corners and rely on the Internet for advice. “These tend to be the ones that get into trouble,” she says.

Related tags: Employment rights