28 October 2005
Britain’s
hidden brain drain
Equal Opportunites Commission. 20
October 2005 .
The EOC has released a report, Britain’s Hidden Brain Drain,
which investigates Britain's flexible and part-time working arrangements and
looks at the benefits of flexible working.
Want
to be an alterpreneur?
The Guardian. 28 October 2005
Research by insurer More Than Business reveals
there is a new type of British worker dubbed the "alterpreneur" (www.alterpreneur.co.uk)
- small business owners who have quit the rat-race to seek
a better quality of life and more time to spend with family
and friends.
UNISON
calls for universal public childcare and more work-life balance
UNISON. 5 October 2005.
UNISON, Scotland's largest union, has called on the Scottish Executive to launch
a campaign to convince employers of the economic and social benefits of increased
work-life balance arrangements. Research is being conducted on staggered hours,
annualised hours, flexible annual leave, income and career breaks, as well
as existing flexibility options
5 October 2005
Does
flexible working harm business?
Confederation of British Industry. 21 September.
A survey by the CBI of 420 firms has found the number of firms reporting a
negative impact from family friendly employment laws has risen from 11 per
cent to 26 per cent in the past year. However, the CBI/Pertemps Employment
Trends Survey showed that 75 per cent of employee requests for flexible working
were fully accepted, with a compromise reached on a further 15 per cent.
Flexible
and family friendly working practices bring business benefits, not
just challenges, says CIPD
CIPD. 22 September.
The CIPD says claims by employers' organisation CBI that there has been an
increase in the number of employers reporting a negative impact from family
friendly employment laws were not borne out in CIPD research, in which three-quarters
of employers say flexible working practices have a positive effect on staff
retention, and 70% say that flexible working has had a positive effect on staff
motivation.
Council
workers did 7 million days’ unpaid overtime last year
Unison. 21 September.
Local government employees worked the equivalent of 7 million days overtime
last year for no pay or time off in lieu, public service UNISON has calculated.
The MORI survey of almost 4,000 UNISON members working in local government
found that 33 per cent say they work unpaid overtime each week - an average
of 4.6 hours.
Government
must extend family friendly work, says EOC
Equal Opportunities Commission. 15 September.
The government should extend family-friendly working laws to allow more workers
to benefit, a report from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has concluded.
The year long investigation found Britain's flexible and part-time working
arrangements are failing to meet the needs of working women and men, leading
to 5.6 million part-time workers - 4 out of 5 of Britain's 7 million part-time
workers - working in jobs that do not use their potential. See the full report, Britain’s
Hidden Brain Drain, here.
