In March 2018, the Government set up the Flexible Working Taskforce, co-chaired by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the CIPD, bringing together key industry, government, trade union and third sector partners to work on widening the availability and uptake of flexible working through campaigns, guidance and expertise. [...] It is currently Labour Party policy to give the right to flexible working for all workers as default, with additional support given to small- and medium-sized businesses to adapt to flexible working practices and increase the uptake of flexible working. [...] There was a general impression that the drive to return to the office was less of an issue than the need for additional support for those working remotely, or the need to expand flexible working to organisations which had never offered it in the first place. [...] The kind of data we collect and the questions we ask today will impact the economic trajectory and the lives of disabled people for years to come, and more focus on evidence- gathering to understand how interventions are working is essential to ensuring the innovative shifts of the pandemic era are not lost. [...] In 2020, the UK Government Office for Science identified the ‘Future of Work’ as an Area of Research Interest, building on the work of the Rebuilding a Resilient Britain programme, noting an evidence gap on the long-term effects of the shift to remote working on the wellbeing and productivity of the workforce.
- Pages
- 24
- Published in
- United Kingdom
Table of Contents
- Summary 2
- Introduction 3
- The shift to flexible working 3
- The disability employment gap 3
- Hybrid working and disabled people 4
- Key recommendations 5
- For Government 5
- For employers 5
- For researchers and advocacy groups 6
- Definitions 7
- The regulatory landscape 9
- Making flexible working more accessible 9
- Additional rights and protections for disabled people 10
- How are disabled peoples rights enforced 11
- Guidance and good practice 12
- The evidence base 13
- Who has access to hybrid working 13
- The post-pandemic return to work 14
- The need for better data on hybrid working and disability 14
- Impact 16
- Flexible working is desirable 16
- But can also create new barriers 17
- Workplace adjustments must be personal and come with tailored support 17
- Looking ahead 19
- T Flexible working rights employer perspectives 19
- International practice need for evaluation 19
- Barriers to accessing support 20
- Wider policy context 20
- Why we did this work 21
- Acknowledgments 23
