Ministers push for ‘default’ flexible working with new UK advisory group

Ministers have asked businesses to help draw up policies on how to make flexible working the default option for companies after the pandemic, despite concerns about the future of city centres should people stay working from home.

Government officials have formed an advisory group from business associations, charities and trade unions to help draw up new employment advice for flexible working. The group had its first meeting on Wednesday.

According to those familiar with what was said, officials raised questions about what hybrid working — a mixture of office and home — would mean for health and safety, productivity and data security. 

The group also discussed the impact of hybrid working on towns and cities, with ministers such as chancellor Rishi Sunak worried that urban economies could be stifled if too many people choose to work from home. 

Many businesses — ranging from sandwich outlets to commercial landlords and newsagents — rely heavily on a flow of commuters.

Practical concerns, such as suitable social distancing measures when workers return, were also discussed. The government is expected to allow companies to encourage staff to return to their workplaces from mid-June.

The meeting was attended by Paul Scully, small business minister, as well as officials from various departments, including the Treasury, work and pensions and health.

Scully said the government wanted flexible working to be the “default” unless employers had good reason not to allow it. The government believes that it could have a beneficial impact on groups such as those with caring responsibilities or older workers. 

“The pandemic has had an undeniable impact on the world of work, and brought the need for flexibility in the workplace into sharp relief,” Scully said. 

Business groups at the meeting included the CBI, Chartered Management Institute, Federation of Small Businesses and Age UK, along with Acas, the conciliation service, and the Trades Union Congress. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission also attended the meeting.

The government was seeking advice from businesses on flexible working in several areas, people familiar with the talks said. The immediate need is to devise short term guidance to help companies reopen and safely bring back workers to offices and other workplaces. 

Officials also want to consider the impact of the pandemic on medium and long term policymaking. This could include whether the existing statutory right to request flexible working should be improved and how to promote “non-contractual” flexibility — allowing workers to choose when and where to work on an ad hoc basis rather than having this written into a contract.

The task force has been asked to produce advice for employers within the next six months. The government promised a consultation into how it would make flexible working the default — a similar commitment to one it made in 2019 — and said it was still working on what to include in a forthcoming employment bill.

Ann Francke, chief executive of the CMI, said the pandemic had given the government the opportunity to “seriously evaluate workplace policy”.

The government consultation comes as a survey from the Institute of Directors of about 600 businesses showed that more than 60 per cent planned to adopt hybrid working even after restrictions eased.

The IoD said 63 per cent of business leaders intended to shift towards one to four days of remote working per week. Only one in five were not planning to introduce any form of remote working, while about one in 10 were looking to work from home entirely.