‘Number of high-level flexi jobs trebles in five years’

The number of senior level jobs which are open to flexible working is rising quickly, according to a report from Timewise.

Its latest Flexible Jobs Index – an annual analysis of five million UK job ads – shows the fastest growth has been seen in senior-level jobs [those earning £60K + if worked full time]. Instances of roles offering flexible work have trebled in five years, although this is starting from a low base of 5%.

It says flexible jobs make up just 15 per cent of vacancies in the UK [up from 9% five years ago], despite huge demand. It cites a poll showing 87 per cent of UK employees want to work flexibly, for instance.

According to the Index, while mentions of flexible work in job ads are increasing year on year; the rate of growth is extremely slow in low paid roles (offering less than £20k FTE), where just 23% of jobs are advertised as flexible, and in middle income roles (£20-34k FTE), where the figure is just 14%.

Timewise adds that the term ‘part time’ has a particular image problem and is associated strongly with lower paid salary bands and is used less as salaries rise. Its figures show, however, that part-time working is the most common flexible arrangement, cited in 44% of roles, followed by flexible hours (27%), home working (16%) and flexible shifts.

Timewise CEO Emma Stewart says: “The jobs market is completely out of balance for people who need flexible work. More roles are starting to become available at the top end, but for those in low-to-middle income brackets, the number of available flexible jobs is stagnating. This isn’t what a fair jobs market looks like. We need to inspire cultural change across the market and convince employers that flexible working, and in particular part-time work, can be hugely successful in all kinds of jobs types and industries that you would not expect.”

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