Lack of flexible working ‘driving parents out of jobs’

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned a lack of flexible working is ‘driving parents out of jobs’ as a new poll reveals a third (33 per cent) of parents with children under the age of seven have left a job due to lack of flexible working.

Almost a third (30 per cent) of parents of children under seven said they had experienced informal flexible working requests being rejected in part or in full.

The polling – conducted by Opinium – has been published after a Government consultation on improving access to flexible working under the Employment Rights Act closed in April.

The findings also show that in parents with children under 7:

Almost three quarters (73 per cent) of parents under 7 said they were more likely to apply for a job if it included flexible working in the job advert
Around half (53 per cent) said they were somewhat (22 per cent) or very (31 per cent) unlikely to apply for a job without knowing if the working pattern would fit around their life and responsibilities
Almost half (49 per cent) said they were unlikely to make a request on the first day of the job
Almost one in five (18 per cent) did not know they had a right to request flexible working
Almost half (48 per cent) said they had negative experiences as a result, for example, feeling their opinion was less valued or taken less seriously, or getting fewer opportunities than other colleagues at same level

The TUC says access to flexible work can be a ‘gamechanger’ for millions of workers including women, disabled workers, parents and workers with other caring commitments. But the polling shows that flexible working is still stigmatised – with high rates of rejection and negative treatment for those who do work flexibly.

The union body says the high rejection rate and poor treatment of flexible working requests shows that Government is right to take action to make flexible working the default under the Employment Rights Act.

Under the new rights employers will have to follow more through steps before they can reject requests, employers will have to accept requests if they are reasonable and feasible and if they choose to reject, employers must explain why their decision is reasonable, reducing the rate of unfair rejections and giving more people access to flexible working. The Government has been consulting on the steps employers must follow when considering rejecting a flexible working request – these must be robust to ensure requests are considered thoroughly and fairly and rejection rates are reduced.

The TUC also says ministers need to go “further and faster” and introduce an advertising duty on employers. This would compel employers to consider what types of flexibility could be offered for a role before it goes live and advertise those options up front – with the successful candidate able to take these up. This would mean parents know before applying for a job whether it will work for them. While new legislation should help ensure more requests are approved, many parents say that they need to know what the flexible working options are before they apply for roles.

The TUC says flexible working is key to keeping people in work and enables people to move within the labour market.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “As many parents return to work after the half term break, anyone with kids knows that being able to work flexibly isn’t a perk. It is a lifeline for working families. But the truth is too many parents are still being locked out of the labour market due to rigid and outdated attitudes in the workplace.

“Improving access to flexible working benefits workers, businesses and the economy – whether it’s through increasing staff productivity or higher retention.

“That’s why the Government is right in its ambition to make flexible working the default through the Employment Rights Act. But ministers must go further. It’s time we saw a legal duty on employers to advertise possible flexibility in roles to fit around workers’ lives.”

Empower Up has a host of articles and guidance on parenting, childcare and care-giving here.