The UK’s Flexible Working Task Force, co-chaired by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the CIPD, is urging employers to advertise jobs of all levels and pay grades as flexible by including the strapline: “Happy to Talk Flexible Working”.
The percentage of the UK workforce with a flexible working arrangement had not risen above the 27 per cent seen in 2010, according to the CIPD Megatrends: Flexible Working report, published last week to coincide with the launch of the campaign. It last rose from 23 per cent in 2005 to 27 per cent in 2010.
It is hoped the campaign will reverse this stagnation by tackling “outdated attitudes” through increasing the availability of flexible working.
Peter Cheese, CIPD chief executive, said providing more flexible opportunities should be part of every organisation’s strategy to attract and retain talent and skills.
“By encouraging many more jobs to be advertised as flexible as the default option, the task force is challenging outdated attitudes to flexible working that still prevail in some organisations, and laying down a marker for other employers to follow,” he said.
The recent CIPD report found part-time hours were the most common form of flexible working among those measured, followed by flexitime, annual hours contracts and term-time working.
Through our work in our sister company, Career-Mums CIC – helping parents to return to work after maternity leave and a career break, we know there are lots of highly skilled and experienced talent who are unable to find their ideal next roles due to the lack of flexibility offered by recruiting employers. We see this as a welcome signal to recruiters to challenge their practices to secure the best available talent.
Contact the CM Talent team to talk about how we can help you embed more flexible working practices in your organisation.
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