Flexible work boosts productivity, says Business Secretary

Labour has reiterated its plans to introduce legislation aimed at giving people a default right to flexible working unless it is not reasonably possible to do so.

In an interview with the Times, Jonathan Reynolds, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, labelled previous government policies on flexible working “bizarre,” asserting that the Tories declared “war” on remote work.

He pledged to end the “culture of presenteeism”, asserting that flexible working contributes to productivity, staff resilience and their ability to stay working for an employer.

The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development [CIPD] said it believes it’s important to properly evaluate whether the day one right to request flexible working, introduced in April this year, is meeting the needs of employers and employees before a default right to flexible working is implemented. It said: “If the Government wishes to make further changes, it will be crucial to properly consult with employers to ensure that plans are workable.”

Meanwhile, Amazon has announced that employees will be required to return to the office for five days a week from the start of next year, reversing pandemic-era policies.

The company says it believes that in-person collaboration enhances learning and company culture. Hot-desking will be eliminated, and management layers will be reduced to streamline operations.

The CIPD said: “Organisations should carefully consider the impacts that telling staff to return to the office full time would have on employees, the organisational culture and performance. For any organisation considering this, understanding whether this step would solve the root problems they are trying to resolve is key.” 

Labour’s employment law reforms also aim to address insecure jobs. New research by the Work Foundation shows that more than four in 10 insecure workers (44%) fell into ‘long-term insecurity’ over a four-year period and that secure workers displayed notably more favourable career pathways across the board. Workers who started in secure work in 2017/18 were twice as likely to hold a secure job by 2021/22 compared to those who started in insecure work (79.5%% vs 39.5%)

It says progression into secure roles often requires people to move sectors. Overall, insecure workers are nearly three times more likely than secure workers to switch sectors (28% compared with 9.6%) – often leaving sectors where insecure work is concentrated like social care, retail and hospitality

What’s more it says opportunities to change occupations or sectors tend to narrow with age and the evidence suggests that older workers are more likely to get stuck in insecure work – with workers aged 45-54 nearly twice as likely to remain stuck in insecure work relative to those aged 16-24 (48.8% vs 28.2%)

The research also shows insecure workers are 1.4 times more likely than those with secure jobs to experience involuntary worklessness – becoming unemployed or economically inactive due to ill-health within the study period. This indicates that job security could be a factor in whether someone will stay in employment while managing a long-term health condition, says the report.

In other news, a new campaign for better paternity leave – Dad Shift – has written an open letter to the Prime Minister and attached model babies to famous statues of men around London, including footballer Thierry Henry and Hollywood star Gene Kelly.

The letter comes as Deloitte has announced a new policy to equalise paid parenting leave in the UK, offering all parents 26 weeks of fully paid leave.

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