Scots firms urged to step up on flexible working

Fewer than half of Scottish employees enjoy flexible working arrangements despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, according to a new report.

Some 44 per cent of Scottish employees have not worked from home at all since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. Picture: AFP via Getty Images.

Human resources organisation the CIPD said the findings of its survey showed that many Scottish workers are facing inequality due to a stark difference in employers’ approaches to options such as flexi-time, part-time working, compressed hours or job shares.

The CIPD has now launched a campaign encouraging employers to support flexible working for all and calling for a change to employment law to make the right to request flexible working from day one of employment for all employees.

The CIPD’s survey found that while the coronavirus pandemic has driven a huge increase in working from home, 44 per cent of Scottish employees have not worked from home at all since the beginning of the crisis. The majority of those employees (94 per cent) say that this is because the nature of their job doesn’t allow this.

However, more than half of Scottish employers (52 per cent) say they will be more likely to grant requests for flexible working, besides working from home, once the pandemic restrictions have been relaxed.

Lee Ann Panglea, head of CIPD Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “Even though we have seen a growth in home working due to the pandemic, there are still significant gaps in access to flexible work. After all, homeworking is only one such arrangement and more needs to be done to improve the range of flexible working options available to employees – benefiting both them and their employers.”

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