Mar 2019
In a previous blog we found a YouGov survey that quoted just 6% of the 4,000 adults surveyed actually worked the traditional 9-5 shift pattern. The rest of them stated that an 8-4 working pattern was more favourable, followed by 7-3, due to the need for more flexibility.
As people are juggling increasingly busy lives around childcare and caring for elderly or disabled relatives , a flexible working pattern appears the way to address it. In the same YouGov survey, 42% of respondents were already working according to shift patterns, compressed hours or job shares. Respondents also told researchers that flexible working made them more motivated and led them to stay in the job longer.
It seems these respondents are paving the way for future generations’ working expectations. An increasing number of millennials and generation Z-ers look to employers to offer flexible working hours and other perks not related to wages. This tells us that flexible working is not just for those who have dependents, and that flexibility is important to people of all ages and life stages.
Self-employment has also seen a dramatic rise in recent years, as flexible working is easier to facilitate. The number of self-employed workers has increased from to 4.8m in 2017 from 3.3m in 2001, according to the ONS, accounting for 15% of the UK’s working population.
If you are an employer and you would like some advice relating to employee contracts, or you are an employee and would like to know if you are entitled to ask for flexible working rights, contact the Employment Team at Downs Solicitors for more information.
