Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest News

Majority of employers back flexible working option for all staff

by Personnel Today 27 Jul 2004
by Personnel Today 27 Jul 2004

Two-thirds
of UK organisations support proposals that recommend extending current flexible
working legislation so that more employees would benefit from it.

The
second quarterly HR Trends and Indicators survey, published by the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), quizzed more than 2,000 HR
professionals and found that almost half (46 per cent) back the right being
extended to all workers.

Mike
Emmott, CIPD head of employee relations, said that when the legal right for
parents to request flexible working arrangements was introduced last year, the
institute urged that it should apply to all employees.

"The
Government will need to consider this option very seriously when it completes
its intended review of the legislation in two years’ time," he said.

"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," Emmott said.

"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."

The
report also shows that UK organisations’ biggest current worry is the prospect
of the working-time opt-out being removed.

A
quarter of UK organisations say that removing the opt-out would have a
significant impact on their organisations, compared to only 5 per cent who cite
the Government’s new flexible working laws as a problem. 

Other
key findings:

•
More than 80 per cent of employers plan to recruit in summer 2004
(June-August).  Almost six out of 10 (58
per cent) employers plan to recruit additional new staff.

•
Around 40 per cent of respondents expect to be employing more staff by the
summer of 2005, against just 17 per cent who expect to employ fewer – a
positive balance of 23 per cent, up from 19 per cent in the spring survey

•
Recruitment intentions by region are highest in London (87 per cent of
employers) and the South East (85 per cent).

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

•
Almost half the 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.

By Quentin Reade

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Former railway union boss dies
next post
REC calls for clarification on Agency Workers Directive

You may also like

Postmasters could take ownership of Post Office

14 Jul 2025

Ethnicity and disability pay gaps: Ready to report?...

14 Jul 2025

Manager dismissed after covert recording with HR wins...

14 Jul 2025

Food sector warned it is facing a workforce...

14 Jul 2025

Gregg Wallace investigation: 45 allegations upheld

14 Jul 2025

Black TV professionals’ experiences of racism are rife,...

14 Jul 2025

Steep reduction in recruitment in June

14 Jul 2025

Two-thirds drink to cope with work stress and...

14 Jul 2025

Why online training won’t help reduce sexual harassment

14 Jul 2025

Three-quarters more likely to stay with employer who...

14 Jul 2025

  • Empower and engage for the future: A revolution in talent development (webinar) WEBINAR | As organisations strive...Read more
  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+