Employers back extension of flexible working rights

The second quarterly HR Trends and Indicators survey, published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), finds that two thirds of UK organisations support proposals for extending the current flexible working legislation so that more employees would benefit from it. And the survey, which involves almost 2,000 HR professionals in all sectors and regions of the UK, shows that over two fifths (46%) back the right being extended to all workers.

The news comes as political parties prepare general election manifestos and as the Government’s work-life balance review continues.

Mike Emmott, CIPD Head of Employee Relations comments, When the legal right for parents to request flexible working arrangements was introduced last year, CIPD urged that it should apply to all employees. In the light of these research findings, and taking into account the other evidence we have about the way in which employers and workers are responding to the legislation, we have no doubt that judgement was right. The Government will need to consider this option very seriously when it completes its intended review of the legislation in two years’ time.

Emmott continues, The way the legislation is framed seems to have struck about the right balance between encouragement and enforcement, with employers currently using the existing flexible working laws to reinforce good practice. We see no reason why the right should not be extended to all workers so as to provide reassurance that no group of workers is being unfairly treated.

Working time opt-out

The report also gauges employers’ views about other UK employment legislation. It reveals that UK organisations’ biggest current worry is the prospect of the working-time opt-out being removed. A quarter of UK organizations say that removing the opt-out would have a significant impact on their organisations - which compares with only 5% who cite the Government’s new flexible working laws.

The CIPD’s working time report, published in March this year, showed that British workers are also opposed to the removal of the working time opt-out. Only a third would like to see the clause removed, which would in effect compel organisations to limit the working week to 48 hours.

Labour market trends - recruitment, redundancy and offshoring

And this, the second monitor of employment intentions, illustrates that the demand for a labour looks set to grow during the Summer in spite of the blip in the unemployment figures earlier this month. It shows that while a majority of employers (60%) plan to hire extra staff this Summer, the number of organisations planning to make redundancies has dropped by 7%.

However, despite this good news, the report shows that the proportion employers planning redundancies as a direct result of relocating jobs abroad has quadrupled this quarter from two to eight per cent. And while the financial and manufacturing sectors bear the brunt of these planned redundancies, there is concern that other sectors such as retail might follow suit.

One explanation for the increase in offshoring is the extent to which UK organizations are having problems finding recruits with suitable skills. Over two fifths of employers report that candidates lack the necessary specialists skills for their vacancies, while under a third report a lack of experience. In the context of the offshoring debate, it is also interesting to note that almost one third of organizations cite ’applicants wanting more pay’ as a common reason for their recruitment difficulties.

Other key findings:

The CIPD’s second quarterly HR Trends and Indicators survey - involving up to 2,000 organisations in all sectors and regions of the UK - also finds that:

*Over 80% of employers plan to recruit in summer 2004 (June-August). Almost six out of 10 (58%) employers plan to recruit additional new staff (i.e. over and above replacement recruitment) this quarter - an increase on the 53% net recruitment figure reported last quarter.

*40% of respondents expect to be employing more staff by the summer of 2005 against just 17% expecting to employ fewer: a positive balance of 23%, up from 19% in the spring quarter survey.

*Recruitment intentions by region are highest in London (87% of employers) and the South East (85%).

*As in the spring quarter, the vast majority of employers (96%) who are recruiting say that at least some of the vacancies to be filled are for full time staff, while 52% are offering part time employment (up from 43% in the spring). Temporary and fixed term contracts are being offered by around a third of all respondents - a higher proportion than in the spring.

*Almost half of respondents anticipate recruitment difficulties over the summer months and a third expect retention difficulties. More than a fifth of respondents reported having no applicants for vacancies.

*A third of UK employers say that EU enlargement will have a positive effect on the UK labour market - more than double the number of those who say that it will have a negative effect (13.6%).