Lack of flexible working opportunities is prevents firms from hiring top talent, study finds

Companies that do not offer flexible working opportunities to their employees are losing out on a fairly large number of highly-skilled recruits, a recent report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has been able to find.

The research found that only 6.2 per cent of ‘quality’ job vacancies were advertised with options to work flexibly. This compared to 47 per cent of those asked who said they wanted to work flexibly.

According to the findings, 1.9 million people who could benefit from a quality flexible job hold the necessary qualification levels to attain one (National Qualifications (NQF) Level 3 or above, or a trade apprenticeship).

Helen Barnard, head of analysis at JRF, said: “The report shines a light on what employers might be missing out on. If we have 1.9 million people who have the qualifications to do a better paid job that are working below that qualification level, what that implies is that there are a lot of employers who have staff who could be contributing more, but because they need some form of flexibility those employers are missing out on that.”

The research said offering quality roles with flexible hours could help raise 25,200 people out of poverty. It said more than 1.5 million people were currently in part-time work below the pay rate for a quality job. A further 154,000 people are not working but seeking part-time work.

Companies interested in offering their employees the option to work flexible hours should also considering deploying an advanced time and attendance solution capable of monitoring the workers’ activity. Time & Attendance UK has an extensive experience in implementing extensive time and attendance systems for a wide variety of companies actively involved in different sectors.

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Proximity smart card technology allows your employees to quickly clock in and out, with the time and attendance software accurately recording attendances.

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