National initiative to ‘fix the flexible jobs market’ and make the hiring process fairer and more transparent, so people who need flexibility in their next job can ask without prejudice.
Flexibility experts Timewise today call upon UK businesses to help unlock 1 million quality jobs to flexible working, by joining the brand new ‘Hire Me My Way’ initiative.Determined to cast sea change in how British businesses hire, flexibility experts Timewise today launch ‘Hire Me My Way’ (www.HireMeMyWay.org.uk) with some of the UK’s leading employers – an ambitious national initiative to unlock one million quality job vacancies to part time and flexible working, ending the exclusion of flexible workers from decently paid jobs in the UK.
At present, flexible workers are distinctly disadvantaged when it comes to applying for new jobs, with new research today highlighting that 79 per cent of people searching for part time or flexible jobs feel the jobs market, for them, is broken1.
Hire Me My Way – and its aim to transform the UK’s flexible jobs market – has been funded by the Big Lottery Fund2.
www.HireMeMyWay.org.uk will offer candidates – for the very first time – visibility on who the UK’s best flexible employers are. Showcasing a range of employers that have made a firm commitment to ‘flexible hiring’ (being open to conversations about flexibility at the point of hire – from Day One), the website will also offer FREE individual career advice for job seekers whether they are looking for a flexible job, or seeking internal promotion while working part time or flexibly3.
New statistics released today from Timewise’s annual Flexible Jobs Index highlight that only 8.7 per cent of job vacancies – with salaries of £20,000 per year or more FTE (full time equivalent) – offer some degree of flexibility4. Hire Me My Way has been designed to make finding a flexible job in 2016 easier and more transparent, so candidates know where to look for such roles.
Flexible working gives employees flexibility on how long, where or when they work, and reflects a growing work pattern that does not involve going into an office for five full days a week – from part time hours, job shares, flexitime to home-working.
The campaign is also backed by a wide range of employers, business groups, equality campaigners and social reformers, who all agree that flexible hiring is a necessity for business, the economy and society.
These include 19 private and public sector employers5, as well as 20 organisations6, including those representing British business and recruitment, such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC); policy makers and researchers such as the Resolution Foundation; and organisations representing people who need flexibility, such as Mumsnet, Remploy and Working Families.
Employers that are happy to discuss flexibility in the hiring process are being asked to come forward and provide a public statement detailing how.
People who need flexibility are also encouraged to add their voice to the campaign, on the Hire Me My Way website (www.HireMeMyWay.org.uk).
Timewise co-founder CEO Karen Mattison, MBE, says: “Modern work has changed, with half of the UK workforce now working flexibly. The problem is that how we advertise jobs simply hasn’t caught up, leaving people who need a flexible or part time job completely confused and stuck. Now it’s time for UK businesses to respond to what candidates want: if you are open to hiring someone flexibly – at the point of recruitment – say so. Join Hire Me My Way and make yourself known – directly to the people who want to work for you.”
Timewise co-founder & CEO Emma Stewart, MBE, adds: “The lack of flexible hiring in the UK affects everyone searching for such jobs. Transform hiring, and you have the potential to bring tangible change to millions of families unable to raise their earnings or progress their careers, because they are trapped by their need for flexibility.”
Lynn Rattigan, Chief Operating Officer at EY, UK & Ireland, who is supporting the launch of today’s campaign says: “The needs of the UK’s workforce are changing rapidly and employers need to keep up; not only to support their own business growth, but indeed the competitiveness of the UK economy.
“There is a huge pool of experienced and highly skilled talent that companies are missing out on simply because they fail to mention, from the outset on their job advertisements, that they are open to flexibility.
“EY is backing Timewise’s ‘Hire Me My Way’ campaign to help shift the mind-sets and behaviours of employers across the UK, to drive change in the recruitment market and modernise the workplace.”
For further information, please visit www.hirememyway.org.uk and join the conversation on www.facebook.com/HireMeMyWay and www.twitter.com/HireMeMyWay #FlexibleHiring #HireMeMyWay
Published May 2016
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Please contact our PR & Campaigns Manager: Jo Burkill via press@timewise.co.uk
1 Timewise surveyed 1,574 of its registered members – people looking for flexible or part time work – in April 2016 via Survey Monkey.
2 Hire Me My Way has been developed with a grant of £750,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK. It puts people in the lead to improve their lives and communities, often through small, local projects. It is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Every year it invests over £650 million and awards around 12,000 grants across the UK for health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
3Job seekers who are either parents or carers, and living outside of London with a combined household income of £40,000 per year or below, will be eligible for free one to one career advice. Some job hunters will also be eligible for 12 weeks of bespoke mentoring from a CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) qualified expert, whether face to face or on the phone. The site will also contain further downloadable advice and guidance packs on how to progress your career whilst working flexibly.
4The 2016 edition of the Timewise Flexible Jobs Index is based on analysis of over 5 million job ads from over 80 UK job boards in the period from September to December 2015. Source: CEB TalentNeuron. Jobs were filtered using 18 keywords relating to different forms of flexible working. The following job types were excluded from the analysis: temping, self-employed, commission only, freelance, franchise opportunities.
5 The first employers to support the Hire Me My Way initiative include (in alphabetical order): Belu Water, Camden Council, Deloitte, Diageo, Dixons Carphone, EY, innocent, Islington Council, NCT, Kellogg’s, KPMG, Lambeth Council, Lloyds Banking Group, Mercer, Pets at Home, PwC, Simmons & Simmons, Virgin Money, Warwickshire County Council.
6 Organisations supporting the Hire Me My Way initiative include (in alphabetical order): Confederation of British Industry (CBI), British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), Business in the Community (BITC), British Retail Consortium (BRC), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Family & Childcare Trust, Gingerbread, Inclusive Employers, Local Government Association (LGA), Mumsnet, Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), Remploy, Resolution Foundation, Mums in Technology, Talented Ladies Club, TUC, WeAreTheCity, Working Families, Working Mums.
Timewise (www.timewise.co.uk) is the UK’s first market place for candidates who want some flexibility on where and when they work.
Experts in flexible hiring, with more than 10 years of experience, Timewise is led by founders Karen Mattison and Emma Stewart, CEO, who have been made MBEs and won a range of awards for their work (see below).
Timewise runs multiple services designed to boost the number of jobs that are advertised with flexible working possibilities in the UK.
The Group’s business divisions include:
Timewise’s work has been recognised by thought leaders, policy makers and the business community, including: Resolution Foundation, the Confederation of British Industry, the Greater London Authority, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Cabinet Office, the Recruitment Employment Confederation, the Chartered Institute for Professional Development and the British Chamber of Commerce.
Organisations that have advertised jobs through us, or used our consultancy service, include EY, Diageo, ITV, Sony Entertainment, Macmillan Cancer Support, McDonalds, EasyJet and more.
Karen and Emma have been named ‘Breaking the Mould’ award winners by the Institute of Directors (November 2014), ‘Women Changing the Business World’ by the IoD’s Director magazine (February 2014) two of the UK’s ‘Top 50 Radicals’ by the Observer and NESTA (Feb 2012) two of the ‘most exciting social entrepreneurs to watch’ by Real Business Magazine and named ‘Small Business Heroes’ by Management Today (May 2013).
