Small firms embracing flexible working

23/04/07 18:33

Despite popular assumptions to the contrary, a new study has found that UK small businesses are embracing the idea of flexible working.

The research, conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found that, despite an ‘assumption among politicians that business has to be forced to be flexible through regulation’, a progressive 89% of small businesses are providing their employees with some form of flexible working.

The study, which claims to be the first overview of what British businesses are actually doing to fulfil their employees’ work-life balance requirements, has found that 72% of small businesses offer part-time working, 69% offer variable hours and 38% offer home working.

When asked about the benefits of allowing staff more freedom to dictate their working terms, two-thirds of employers cited improvement in staff retention and 58% reported an increase in productivity.

Sally Low, director of Policy and External Affairs at the BCC, said: “Business is well ahead of the current debate.

“The overwhelming majority of respondents to our survey are embracing flexibility because they understand clearly the benefits of providing flexible working to their employees, reporting improvements in employee relations, staff retention and productivity.”

According to the BCC, a perception gap exists, whereby the government is issuing more legislation in this area because businesses are not effectively promoting their current policies.

“This report clearly shows how disconnected politicians are from the reality of the UK’s workplaces,” added Low.

The BCC argued that, without the same HR support as large firms, small businesses need more practical guidance about how to work more flexibly at low cost.

“The debate now needs to shift away from what employers are not doing to focus on what they are and try to identify the real barriers to greater flexibility.

“Those who aren’t providing flexibility for their staff lack the management confidence to restructure the way they manage their staff, only advice and support will rectify this while further regulation will impose a needless and onerous burden”.