Can a more flexible jobs market raise the status and pay of part-time workers?

The UK is facing a labour market crisis with demand far outstripping the supply of candidates, and a cost of living crisis that is hitting hard, especially for low income households. Against this backdrop, Timewise set out to explore:

• The extent to which a lack of part-time jobs at the point of hire traps people out of work altogether, or in jobs paid less than their skills value and also less than the salary needed to achieve an acceptable minimum standard of living.
• The number of people in the UK who are impacted in this way – which the analysis estimates as being 1.1 million, more than half of whom are in certain disadvantaged groups (parents especially single parents, older workers, and disabled people).
• The potential impact of greater access to part-time jobs, in terms of drops in household poverty rates amongst these groups, and potential savings in benefit payments.   
• The reasons why many employers are still resistant to offering flexibility from the point of hire.
• What interventions might encourage employers to change.

The jobs market remains broken for people who need to work flexibly, and a key barrier is employer resistance. This report seeks to improve understanding around the issues, with a view to encouraging more employers to engage with the idea of hiring flexibly, and realise the benefits of changing their hiring practices.

Published November 2022