This section offers a wide variety of news, views, guides and stories about subjects including returning to work, flexible working, maternity & parental leave, childcare, career advice and employment rights.

Flexible working on the increase

New research finds more people are being offered flexible working but a third of workers till missing out

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A third of UK workers are still not being offered flexible working according to new research.

A survey carried out by PowWowNow, a company that provides tech to support remote working and conference calls, found flexible working is on the increase. But it also showed 32% of respondents said they weren’t given the option of flexible working five years after the right to request it was introduced by law.

Two thirds of people are now offered flexible working, up from just over a half a year ago.

The vast majority of people questioned said flexible working would make them more productive and more motivated.

Four out of five said a job that was advertised as open to flexible working would be more attractive than one that wasn’t.

The research was carried out to mark PowWowNow’s Smarter Working Initiative, an annual event timed to coincide with school holidays when many parents find flexible working particularly advantageous.

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PowWowNow boss Jason Downes told workingdads about this company culture last month.

Talking about the latest findings he said, “It’s quite shocking to learn that a significant number of office workers across the UK aren’t getting the flexibility they’re looking for in their working week, despite having a legal right to it. While I am delighted to see that more employers than last year are embracing a more flexible culture, more still needs to be done to educate workplaces on the benefits this can bring when managed well.

“Flexible working is just one element of a smarter approach to the working week which I feel is needed across the UK,” he added. “We have the very latest technology available at our fingertips, enabling the majority of us to remain productive even if we’re not bound to our desks 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, and I urge as many employers as possible to consider how they can motivate and incentivise their staff by working smarter this summer and beyond.”