As an increasing amount of people are calling out for flexible working, companies are requesting more support to help implement this form of employment.
This is according to research from Workingmums, a company that helps parents find part time and flexible jobs, who found that 42 per cent of employers desire help to successfully implement flexible working.
At the same time, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has found that 39 per cent of UK workers have done temporary, contract or freelance work at some point in their careers. This is an increase of 36 per cent in 2014.
The Workingmums survey showed that 37 per cent of employers think all groups of the workforce desire flexible working, which is in contrast to 35 per cent believing demand is mainly coming from parents and 23 per cent who say it is mainly for mums.
It also found that they are getting 31 per cent more dads asking for flexible working, 20 per cent older workers and 29 per cent more non-parents.
There is also a belief, that a job advert with flexible working in it will reach a wider candidate base, with 56 per cent of employers saying they are having trouble finding people with the right skills.
Neil Carberry, CEO of the REC, said:
People are making a positive choice to do flexible work because they want more from their job. For too long, the political debate has treated flexible work as second class, and even locked flexible workers out of some forms of support – like the apprenticeship system. That has to change. We need to celebrate different forms of work that are essential to meeting workers’ needs a critical stages of many people’s lives.
People who work flexibly through recruitment agencies are protected by employment laws. Millions of people and businesses turn to trusted recruiters every year to get the most out of the many opportunities flexible work has to offer.
Gillian Nissim, the founder of Workingmums, said:
The survey throws up some interesting results. Particularly interesting is the number of employers who say they need more support to deal with the demand for flexible working. This shows that there needs to be some carrot along with the stick of stronger enforcement of flexible working legislation and new rights for employees. The world of work is changing very fast and many employers have adapted on an ad hoc basis, which can build up problems for the future. They need help to take a step back and strategise for the future.
To gather these results, Workingmums asked 200 UK employers.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
