'Rigid' employers deny flexible working to women in public sector, says Unison

15 February 2024 , 08:32

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Unison found that responses from bosses were often "inconsistent, rigid and unimaginative" when dealing with flexibility requests (Credit Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

New research shows nearly a third of female public sector workers have had their requests to work flexibly denied.

The survey by Unison included women working in places like schools, hospitals, police stations, care homes and town halls. Unison found that responses from bosses were often "inconsistent, rigid and unimaginative" when dealing with these flexibility requests.

The survey revealed that one-quarter of the women who took part noted that their requests had been denied numerous times. Almost half of the survey participants asked for some job flexibility to achieve a better work-life balance, such as accommodating childcare.

But reasons for refusal could be concerns about impact on service quality or not enough colleagues to absorb extra duties. One fifth reported being refused because their managers worried it would encourage others to ask for similar working patterns.

Shockingly, about one in seven didn't get a reason at all for the denial. Christina McAnea, Unison General Secretary said: "It's disheartening to see many employers continuing to deny their staff the opportunity to work flexibly. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain."

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She added: "Sadly many women who find they need to inject some flexibility into their working lives are coming up against employers with inconsistent, rigid and unimaginative attitudes. Helping women to balance work with caring commitments not only improves morale, but can also help employers fill hard-to-recruit jobs. And with fewer vacancies, services provided to the public are likely to improve."

"Too many employers are still turning down flexible-working requests, which means the right to request is pretty meaningless for many women. The right to work flexibly from day one would be beneficial for staff and employers alike, and help bring workplaces into the 21st century."

Jemima Olchawski, Fawcett Society chief executive, said: "For too long our workplaces have been structured around outdated stereotypes that assume every household has one male breadwinner and one female homemaker. This is a harmful myth."

"Fawcett's research shows that flexible work is essential if we want to close the gender pay gap and enable women to progress. We know that too many women feel they have no choice but to accept lower-paid, lower-quality work in exchange for flexibility."

"As Unison's research shows, a day-one right-to-request is simply not enough to create the deep cultural change that is needed."

Lawrence Matheson