Flexible working on the increase, says CBI

The proportion of the UK's employees who work flexibly has shown a marked increase over recent years, a new comprehensive survey from the CBI has revealed.

The latest employment trends survey from the employers' organisation found that 46 per cent of firms that responded now offer staff the chance to telework, an increase of 14 per cent on the figure two years ago.

The rise in part is down to efforts by employees to avoid the time-consuming trouble of the daily commute, and in part down to a growing appreciation by employers that productivity does not suffer if staff work from home, the CBI said.

As well as teleworking, term-time working and job sharing have climbed noticeably.

John Cridland, the CBI's deputy director general, said: "The boundaries of the traditional 9 to 5 in the office or on the shop floor are becoming more and more blurred. Employers are embracing the benefits of flexible working, even as the economy heads into more uncertain times.

"Using teleworking to take work out of the workplace has become very popular, and is also a useful way to avoid a laborious commute, balance family commitments, and even reduce carbon emissions. As technology becomes more reliable and widely available, this trend can only grow."

Other indications of long-term changes in working practices came with figures showing that almost a third of employees reaching retirement age asked if they could postpone leaving work and continue in their jobs. Of these requests, 81 per cent were granted.

Mr Cridland said: "Many older workers do not want to retire, or do not feel financially secure enough to do so, particularly with the downturn in the housing market. In the majority of cases employers are very happy to retain older staff, who often have invaluable skills and experience."

Despite the advances in flexible working, a significant number of employers expressed concerns over employment law.

Some 64 per cent said that cumbersome employment regulations were threatening the flexibility of the labour market.

On specific employment regulation issues, the survey revealed that the majority of temporary placements (60 per cent) will fall inside the 12-week qualifying limit imposed by the new agreement on the rights of agency workers.

However, four out of ten employers feared that the loss of the UK's opt-out from the EU Working Time Directive would have a severe impact on their business.

Mr Cridland commented: "The recent agreement on agency temps is harmful to business, but it could have been so much worse. Our survey shows that a significant chunk of temp contracts will not be affected, but anecdotal comments suggest that some firms will no longer use agency temps.

"The economy is clearly struggling, and now is not the time for the European Union to weaken its commitment to the opt-out from the Working Time Directive, which remains a paramount concern for many businesses."

Speaking of employment rules generally, Mr Cridland urged the government not to impose any further red tape on businesses.

He said: "Right now the Government needs to recognise that businesses are at the limit of what they can absorb. If employers aren't given breathing space from workplace legislation then jobs will be put at risk."

Evidence from the survey suggested that many firms are already committed to improving diversity at work, with 82 per cent having diversity policies in place and a third of employers having already conducted equal pay audits.

Mr Cridland added: "Pointless rules about diversity are still on the cards, and employers feel that they are making strong progress in these areas under their own steam, and without the need for rafts of new legislation."

But Nigel Stanley, the head of campaigns at the TUC, argued that the survey gave only a partial glimpse of employment conditions in the UK.

Mr Stanley said: "This survey reports some positive findings for staff, and of course we welcome any signs that employers are offering more flexible working and that they are more prepared to trust appropriate staff to work from home.

"But it would be wrong to think that this survey is a scientific measure of all companies or all employees. We doubt whether any of the employers of Britain's two million vulnerable workers most in need of better legal protection returned survey forms. This is a survey of Britain's better employers and therefore looks through rose-tinted glasses at today's world of work."