What's happening in April 2003?

Citation

Roberts, B. (2003), "What's happening in April 2003?", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 31 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2003.08931gab.001

What's happening in April 2003?

What's happening in April 2003?

Over the last decade there has been a major shift in the workplace. Traditional methods of working no longer suit everyone and flexible work patterns are becoming more and more relevant. Government research has shown it could take up to 20 years to bring about change in the way we work by best practice alone. Parents of today's young children cannot wait 20 years for the work-life balance message to get through to all employers and this is why we are introducing legislation to spread best practice more quickly.

The Employment Act 2002 introduces new employment legislation specifically to help working parents. From 6 April 2003 parents with young and disabled children will have more choice and more support than ever before to balance childcare and work in ways that benefit everyone: employers, employees and their children.

The key measures

• •

  Parents of children aged under six and disabled children aged under 18 will have the right to apply to work flexibly and their employers will have a duty to consider their requests seriously.

• •

  Maternity leave will be increased to 26 weeks' ordinary maternity leave (paid) and 26 weeks' additional maternity leave (unpaid).

• •

  Standard statutory maternity pay (SMP) will increase to £100 a week. In addition, changes to the National Insurance threshold will mean that 60 per cent of all UK firms will be able to claim back over 100 per cent of the SMP they pay out – an increase of 10,000 companies.

• •

  A new right to two weeks' paid paternity leave within eight weeks of the birth of a child or the placement of a child newly-placed for adoption. Payment will be at the same standard rate as SMP.

• •

  Adoption leave will be introduced for parents adopting a child newly placed with them. As far as possible, provisions for adoption leave will mirror provisions for maternity pay and leave.

• •

  Rules governing employers' handling of maternity leave will be simplified, and will also apply to the new paternity and adoption leave and pay rights.

These new rights, together with existing rights to parental leave and time off for dependants, will provide parents with more choice to balance work and family life, whilst being compatible with, and beneficial to, business efficiency.

For more information on the employment rights for working parents visit www.tiger.gov.uk

More workers in the retail sector want flexible hours rather than cash, company car or gym

Flexible working hours are more important than money for a quarter of the people looking for a new job according to a survey out today.

The online poll, carried out by recruitment Web site reed.co.uk with the Department of Trade and Industry's Work-Life Balance Campaign, surveyed over 650 jobseekers across the retail, sales and marketing sectors:

• •

  Almost half of the respondents (45 per cent) chose flexible working as the benefit they would most look for in their next job, with only 6 per cent choosing gym membership and 14 per cent opting for a company car.

• •

  One in four (27 per cent) would prefer the opportunity to work flexible hours rather than receive £1,000 more pay per year.

• •

  Two in three jobseekers (68 per cent) would like the chance to work more flexibly when necessary.

• •

  Eight in ten (77 per cent) parents with children under six said that work-life balance is an important factor in deciding whether to apply for a new job.

• •

  Two in three (68 per cent) workers in the retail sector view work-life balance as an important factor in assessing a potential new job.

A summary of other finidngs in the nationwide poll can be found at the end.

These findings are significant in light of new measures being introduced following the 2002 Employment Act. The measures for working parents come into force on 6 April 2003 and will give working parents more choice and support than ever before to help them balance childcare and work in ways that benefit employers, employees and their children.

Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt said: "… increasingly people want more from work than the usual package. The best businesses are already switched on to this and are using flexible working policies to attract and retain the people they need in the war for talent.

"This poll shows that getting a better work-life balance is becoming much more important for all employees – men as much as women – and the competitive advantages business gains from offering flexible working are now well established.

"The new employment rights will be a major step forward in helping businesses hold onto good staff and help millions of working parents balance work and childcare. I urge both employers and employees to call the helpline to find out how they can make these changes work for business."

James Reed of recruitment Web site reed.co.uk, who carried out the study, commented: "This research is a real wake-up call for employers. Clearly many job-seekers think flexibility is the most important benefit of all. Yet surprisingly, out of over 100,000 permanent and temporary jobs on the site, less than 60 offer flexitime as a benefit, compared to the thousands who offer company cars or gym membership.

"Too many organizations seem to be missing out on one of the most effective ways to attract top talent. However, this is easily remedied. It seems that employers who highlight opportunities to achieve a better work-life balance will simply be better placed to recruit and retain the people they need."

Summary of findings

Time more important than money for UK job seekers

• •

  Of all jobseekers questioned, one in three (31 per cent) said they would prefer the opportunity to work flexible hours rather than receive £1,000 more pay per year (37 per cent for women and 27 per cent for men).

• •

  In the 18-25 age group, the figure was 28 per cent.

• •

  Of all parents with children under six years, the figure was 37 per cent.

• •

  Amongst the women questioned, the figure was over a third (37 per cent).

• •

  This can be compared to over a quarter (27 per cent) of the men questioned.

Flexibility in hours more important than a company car or gym membership

• •

  Nearly half (46 per cent) of all respondents would prefer flexibility in hours they work, compared with just 7 per cent who would prefer gym membership and 10 per cent who would like a company car.

• •

  Five in ten (43 per cent) men voted for flexible hours compared with just 13 per cent who wanted a company car and 7 per cent who wanted gym membership.

• •

  Over half the women questioned (51 per cent) chose flexible hours compared with 7 per cent for company car and 7 per cent for gym membership.

• •

  Two-thirds (65 per cent) of under 18s would prefer flexibility, compared with 11 per cent for a company car and 8 per cent for gym membership.

• •

  A total of 45 per cent of recent graduates/undergraduates chose flexibility in hours compared to 14 per cent who would prefer a company car and 10 per cent gym membership.

• •

  A total of 42 per cent of those in a manager/director role want flexibility compared to 13 per cent who would prefer a company car and 4 per cent gym membership.

• •

  A total of 52 per cent of parents with children under six would like flexibility in the hours they work.

Work-life balance a decisive factor in job selection

• •

  Of all those surveyed, 69 per cent agreed work-life balance was an important factor when assessing a potential new job.

• •

  For parents with children under six, the figure was eight in ten (77 per cent).

• •

  For carers, the figure was 81 per cent.

• •

  For men and women, work-life balance was equally as important when assessing a new job. The figure for men was 67 per cent and 73 per cent for women.

• •

  For manager/director level jobseekers, the figure was 74 per cent.

"Presenteeism" culture (staying long hours, despite having finished work for the day) is common in UK businesses

• •

  Of all those surveyed, 81 per cent said they had experienced a presenteeism culture, with over one in three(31 per cent) stating that they had frequently felt it.

• •

  At manager/director level, 83 per cent had experienced presenteeism culture.

• •

  An equal number of men and women (81 per cent) had experienced presenteeism.

• •

  Despite high levels of presenteeism, 87 per cent of all respondents agreed they would prefer to work in a productivity-focused environment.

Work-life balance still an ideal rather than a reality

• •

  Seven in ten of all those surveyed (68 per cent) would like a better work-life balance and the chance to work more flexibly when necessary.

• •

  An equal number of men and women would like a better work-life balance (67 per cent men and 68 per cent women)

How is work-life balance good for business?

The best employers worldwide already know that it makes good business sense to create a better work-life balance for their workforce. More businesses now operate on a 24/7 basis and traditional working practices are no longer suitable for all employers, their people, or their customers. Work-life balance practices are designed to make businesses work better, both in terms of business performance and employee welfare.

From April 2003, flexible working will be on every company's agenda. Parents of children under six, or disabled children under 18, will have the right to request to work flexibly and to have these requests considered seriously by their employer.

Flexible working will give parents greater support and choice with balancing work and childcare and help employers retain valuable skills and experience.

Good employers who extend work life balance practices to their whole workforce reap serious business benefits including:

• •

  increased productivity;

• •

  reduced absenteeism and better relations with staff;

• •

  improved staff morale, commitment and loyalty; and

• •

  lower turnover of staff and an improved reputation as an employer of choice.

ASDA is an example of a retail company supportng work-life balance. It has 233 stores, 100,000 employees and 7 million customers per week.

Their work-life policies include:

• •

  job sharing;

• •

  childcare leave;

• •

  shift swapping schemes;

• •

  study leave;

• •

  emergency leave; and

• •

  carers' leave.

The business benefits include:

• •

  improved levels of motivation;

• •

  customer service;

• •

  labour turnover; and

• •

  motivation and absenteeism.

Example case study

ASDA has carried out a number of job share pilots successfully. At the Skelmersdale store in Lancashire, two store managers have just started to job share. Linda Gothersall and Sonia Campbell started their job share on 26 January. Linda has been with ASDA for 14 years and is aged 35 with two children – a daughter aged seven and an eight-month-old baby.

Sonia has been with ASDA for 18 months. She was previously with Sears and Whitbread. Sonia had her second baby (her first child is two) almost at the same time as Linda. Linda and Sonia both work three days each, which works out at approximately 25 hours each. They have a handover session every three weeks and have very slick work processes to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Sonia is very positive about the scheme and the better work-life balance she has achieved as a result. She says ASDA has been very supportive and when both Sonia and Linda had their second children ASDA made sure they were aware of the option of a job share approach. It works really well for them both and helps them manage their home and work commitments. It also means they can share working late nights.

In today's competitive environment the cost of not implementing work-life balance policies can be high:

• •

  employers for work-life balance estimate it can cost up to £40,000 to replace a senior manager; and

• •

  stress-related sick absence costs industry around £7.1million every week (Health & Safety Executive).

Another survey carried out by the DTI Work-Life Balance Campaign and Management Today magazine revealed that long hours and lack of flexible working options are having a detrimental effect on stress levels:

• •

  seven out of ten (72 per cent) highly stressed workers do not have access to any formal flexible working practices;

• •

  one in five (19 per cent) men have visited the doctor because of stress; and

• •

  over a quarter of workers (25 per cent) would like to get a better balance but think that their career would suffer.