The Covid-19 Pandemic has led to profound changes in how we think about work and flipped the UK labour market upside down. Recent findings from the Office for National Statistics in its May 2022 report show a huge number of job vacancies advertised compared to the number of unemployed. This is due to a rise in Britain’s inactivity rate, which is 22% but still rising.
Employers’ failure to incentivise employees to work during and after the pandemic—flexible working being one such incentive—has arguably contributed to the rising level of inactivity. In early 2020, there were four unemployed people for every job vacancy in the UK. Now, the ratio is one for one.
The sharp decrease in unemployment is partly due to the smaller population and an increase in people leaving the UK. Stephen Evans, chief executive of thinktank the Learning and Work Institute, says there are “1.1 million fewer people in the workforce than there would have been had pre-pandemic trends continued.”
Despite widespread calls for greater flexible-working provisions, particularly since the pandemic, recruiters do not always advertise their flexible-working benefits. Flexible working appears in just 5% of job adverts.
Evans reiterates the failure of many employers to keep workers incentivised, valued and considered, stating that while “the end of the furlough is agreed to have been a triumph…there was no attempt to talk to people who were dropping out of the workforce altogether, and no retraining.”
Flexible working provisions will be vital to helping the population impacted by COVID-19, whether through long COVID or mental health issues that worsened during the pandemic. In total, 300,000 people have joined the long-term sick. The pandemic exacerbated the experiences of older workers, those with caring duties, disabilities, and long-term health conditions. Employers have primarily not done enough to support these employees in balancing their other responsibilities, which can be done by offering clear, flexible working options.
What needs to be done to tempt people into work?
The Centre for Ageing Better urges the Prime Minister to deliver on his promises three years ago regarding extending flexible working and Carer’s leave. In the 2019 Conservative Manifesto, the Government committed to addressing flexible working: “Encouraging flexible working and consulting on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to.” They also note that the 2019 Queen’s Speech announced an Employment Bill would ‘enhance workers’ rights, support flexible working and extend unpaid carers’ entitlement to leave. Steven Vass of The Conversation iterates that we need to see creative solutions to tackling Britain’s labour shortage, ‘such as employers offering attractive packages including training and flexible working, and local and national authorities ensuring adequate local availability or affordable housing.’
But in the most recent Queen’s Speech in March 2022, a law to give Employers the default right to work flexibly was axed. So, despite their promises, the Government is no longer on board. However, as more companies trial a 4-day working week, perhaps more employers realise that the only way to win the war for talent in a challenging recruitment market is to offer flexible working solutions.
What are your thoughts? Is flexible working the solution to the labour market shortage? Contact us and let us know. We love to hear your views.
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