PRESS RELEASE: 1 million bosses now work part-time

• There are now 1 million part-time employees in senior or manager level jobs in the UK.¹
• Meaning part-time executives now represent 1 in 6 people in manager-level or senior jobs in the UK².
• Data is being published to celebrate the list of 2020 Timewise Power 50 award winners.
• The Timewise Power 50 is a campaign that aims to prove that part-time can mean senior, can mean ambitious – can even mean being the boss.
• Double the number of men appear in the list of Timewise Power 50 winners, than in 2012 when the campaign first began.
• …including the first male CEO to talk openly about his part-time working arrangement.

Flexible hiring experts Timewise today reveal the number of part-time employees in manger-level or senior jobs in the UK has exceeded 1 million for the first time¹.

Their numbers have increased by more than half (55 per cent) in the 8 years since Timewise started tracking the figures.

Part time executives now represent 1 in 6 people in manager-level and senior roles in the UK (16 per cent)².#

1,007,000 UK employees now work part-time & earn at least £40k FTE. £40k FTE is set as a benchmark, as this accounts for roughly the top 25 per cent of earners in the UK. Many people within this bracket have ‘manager’ or ‘senior’ in their job title.¹

Above the £40k+ FTE level, the numbers of part-time employees begin to fall sharply as salary rises. There are 569,000 employees earning over £50k FTE+ ³.   

Timewise says that whilst flexible working is hitting its stride –  there remains a ‘ceiling’ on the availability of part-time structures in the very mostsenior roles.

Showcasing the talent of people who are working part-time and flexibly in Britain today, Timewise reveals the winners of the 2020 Timewise Power 50 awards – 50 individuals who are working part-time or flexibly in very senior-level roles. In all kinds of jobs. Who talk openly about their reasons for doing so.

A fifth of the winners this year are men (11 of 50) – a proportion that has doubled since the very first Timewise Power 50 awards, in 2012.

Examples of winners include:

• Marc Nohr, Group CEO, Miroma agencies – 4 days/wk. Marc has worked part-time since 2017 and is the first male CEO to openly talk about his part-time working arrangement. Miroma Group is a collective of 13 marketing and communications agencies across 11 countries, with revenues in excess of $200m. Marc works part-time for more space in his week, chairing Jewish charity JW3 and the commercial group for industry body, the IPA.
  
• Vidhya Alakeson, Chief Executive, Power to Change – 90pc contract. Power to Change is a trust that has invested more than £70m in community businesses across England. It employees 45 people, with offices in London, Bristol and Sheffield. Vidhya has 2 children under the age of 3.
  
• Harry Gaskell, Chief Innovation Officer, UK and Ireland for EY – 60% contract. Harry oversees EY’s technology investments in the UK and Ireland, working with a team of over 100 people. Having reached a more senior point in his career, he wants more time to pursue his interests in education, inclusion and angel investing alongside his EY role. Working from Tuesday to Thursday allows him to do just that.
  
• Sarah Macfarlane, Managing Director, Legal, Group Technology Services, London Stock Exchange Group PLC – 4 days per week. Sarah manages a team of ten lawyers located in London, Italy and Sri Lanka. She is a member of the Group’s Leadership Team and the CIO’s Senior Management Team. Sarah moved to a four-day week after the birth of her first child, to share parenting with her husband who also works flexibly.
  
• Madeleine McDougall & Andy Hulme, Managing Director, Global Head of Real Estate & Housing for Lloyds Banking Group – 3 days a week each. Maddie and Andy form a rare executive-level job share within banking. They are jointly responsible for the real estate and housing business at Lloyds Banking Group, the largest lender to UK housebuilders and housing associations. Under their leadership, their team has been named 2018 UK Lender of the Year and Sustainable Finance Provider of the Year, as well as winning Commercial Real Estate Deal of the Year. Their arrangement allows them both to balance their careers and young families, with Andy having recently adopted a son with his husband.

The Timewise Power 50 was launched to challenge those who believe part-time and flexible jobs only suit low-skilled roles with little responsibility.

2020’s list of winners, backed by EY, Diageo, Lloyds Banking Group, Dixons Carphone & Management Today magazine, also includes an award for businesses that have shown innovation in flexible hiring, and in flexible job design. This year won by the Cabinet Office, for its job share matching scheme, and to Figleaves, for its digital working model.

Timewise co-founder Karen Mattison, MBE says: “Just a few years ago, people were reluctant to admit they worked part-time for fear of being seen as less committed or ambitious. No more. With 1 in 6 manager and senior-level executives working less than 5 full days a week, it’s clear flexible working has hit its stride.  Read the inspiring stories of our winners to get a sense of how they make such high-level jobs work, when you aren’t available every day of the working week. But a key challenge remains when it comes to flexible hiring – which is in its infancy. It’s time to fix the jobs market for this talented pool of flex execs – something we at Timewise are 100 per cent committed to. ”

Lynn Rattigan, EY’s Chief Operating Officer in the UK & Ireland, comments: “EY has supported the Timewise Power 50 awards for eight years, continuing to challenge the traditional 9-5 working week and highlight the value of flexible working. It’s positive to see a such a significant increase in the uptake of flexible working arrangements, signalling a real shift in culture change and perceptions.”

“This year’s Timewise Power 50 winners truly are inspirational role models for the workplace of the future, demonstrating that choosing to work flexibly should not limit your potential. Organisations that adopt a more flexible approach will reap the benefits of a broader talent pool, increase the diversity of their workforce, and be better prepared for the future of work.”

Elke Noels, HR Director GB and Europe Functions, Diageo says: “Congratulations to this year’s winners and to all those who entered The Timewise Power 50 nationwide!”

“At Diageo we aim to create a culture where all our people can thrive at work, supported by progressive policies and practices. We are committed to creating an environment where all our employees feel emboldened be their best at work and at home, excel in their careers and where work can be a fulfilling part of their lives.”

We are extremely proud to sponsor The Timewise Power 50, which is brilliant recognition of those who are leading the way as role models to champion inclusivity and drive a flexible working culture.”

Fiona Cannon OBE, Group Responsible Business, Sustainability and Inclusion Director at Lloyds Banking Group comments: “Lloyds Banking Group is delighted to again sponsor the awards and broader Timewise agenda and would like to congratulate all the entrants in this year’s Timewise Power 50. Everyone has demonstrated incredible achievements, whilst role modelling agile ways of working. The demands of the workplace continue to change, so it’s vital that all businesses recognise and value alternative ways of working. To meet the ever changing needs of colleagues and customers in the 21st century, we need to continue to evolve our working approach.”

Paula Coughlan, Chief People Officer at Dixons Carphone says: “Congratulations to those recognised in this year’s Timewise Power 50 list! At Dixons Carphone, we are proud to back our colleagues striving for a more flexible working culture by offering adapted hours and roles that can be carried out from home or outside the office. I’ve seen some excellent examples of business leaders who share their stories of flexible working and show no signs of stopping their continued achievements in the workplace.”  

For more information please contact Jo Burkill:
 t: 0207 633 4553 / m: 07960 472097 / e: press@timewise.co.uk

Published February 2020

Notes to editors

¹ Source: Data is taken from  Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) – Estimates of hourly earnings excluding overtime and annual earnings by occupation for each percentile, UK, 2008, 2016, 2018 and 2019, available via ONS, which was last surveyed in April 2019. Paul Bivand, Associate Director, Statistics & Analysis at Learning & Work Institute analysed the data on behalf of Timewise. The top 25% of all employees (whether full-time or part-time) earn £39,130 (FTE) or more. Many jobs within the bracket contain the words ‘senior’ or ‘manager’ within their title. The current median part-time employee wage in the UK is £19,458 FTE.  £40k FTE was also the same benchmark Timewise used when looking at the equivalent data in 2012.

² Part time workers represent 16 per cent of all UK employees who earning at least £40k FTE, accounting for roughly 1 in 6 UK employees (1,007,000 of 6,345,000 people). Data is taken from Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) – Estimates of hourly earnings excluding overtime and annual earnings by occupation for each percentile, UK, 2008, 2016, 2018 and 2019, available via ONS, which was last surveyed in April 2019

³ Over £60k FTE there are 360,000. Beyond £60k FTE, the ONS advises extreme caution and suppresses some results on quality grounds.

About Timewise

Timewise (timewise.co.uk) are flexible working specialists running a flexible working consultancy that helps employers design innovative solutions to attract and retain talented people, and create fair workplaces.

The consultancy is part of a wider multi-award winning social business, that shares market insights on flexible working and flexible hiring, conducts research such as the annual Flexible Jobs Index and runs campaigns and advocates for change on the stigma surrounding part-time and flexible work. It also runs Timewise Jobs (timewisejobs.co.uk ), a national jobs board for roles that are part-time or open to flexibility.