Study shows 3/4 of job ads don’t mention flex

Nearly three quarters of UK job vacancies make no reference to flexible working possibilities, according to an analysis of more than five million vacancies by Timewise.

Timewise says the portion of jobs offering flexible options has grown by just 4 per cent since 2020 and that just over one in four UK jobs are advertised with flexible working options.

Timewise has produced an annual snapshot of the UK labour market since 2015. Vacancies are filtered using 17 keywords relating to different forms of flexible working, for example: ‘remote working’, ‘home working’ and ‘part-time’.

The report also shows that:

• Part-time work is the preferred working pattern for 20 per cent of UK employees, but is offered in just 10 per cent of job adverts.
• Home or remote working only appear in 8 per cent of job ads, reducing slightly in the period since lockdown restrictions were lifted in April 2021 (from 10% during the January-April lockdown).
• There are disparities in how flexible working is offered across salary levels. This causes blocks in career progression for anyone who cannot work full time in an office.
• Part-time work and low pay are still synonymous – 19 per cent of low paid jobs (up to £20k FTE) mention part-time possibilities. This is the highest ratio of any salary band.
• Conversely, home-working and flexible working are disproportionately offered at higher salary levels (14 per cent and 10 per cent respectively) and are rarely seen in low-paid vacancies.

Timewise co-founder Emma Stewart, says: “The way that employers are advertising jobs ignores the biggest shake-up of work seen in a generation.  We know that candidates do not want to raise the question; we believe they shouldn’t have to. In the post-pandemic, post-Brexit employment market, where vacancies far outstrip candidate supply, thousands of skilled candidates won’t move until they see that a job clearly offers flexible working from day one. With more than 3 million people still economically inactive due to caring or health reasons, employers are missing out on attracting a wider pool of talent they desperately need.”

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