Over a Quarter of Middle-Aged Workers Feel Colleagues With Families are Put First at Work - Croner Research

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Over a Quarter of Middle-Aged Workers Feel

Colleagues With Families are Put First at Work

- Croner Research

PR Newswire

LONDON, May 31, 2012

LONDON

,

May 31, 2012

/PRNewswire/ --

27% of UK workers aged between 45 and 54 who work with other people think

their employer puts their colleagues who have children or families first.

The finding comes from a survey of 1,175 working adults with colleagues by

YouGov for Croner (http://www.cronersolutions.co.uk), part of global

information services business, Wolters Kluwer.

Under current employment legislation employees who have children have the

statutory right to ask to work flexibly, a right that is denied to people who no

longer have - or who never had - family commitments. Croner asked the

survey's respondents whether their company puts the needs of employees who

have children or families over the rest of the work force: in the 45-54 age

group 18% agreed and 9% strongly agreed.

Interestingly, the survey shows a large variation of opinion by region. Overall,

people in the survey who live in

Scotland

are far less likely to agree that their

employer puts the needs of those with children or families first (just 14% agree,

or strongly agree) compared with

Yorkshire

and the Humber, where 32% agree

or strongly agree.

Carol Smith, a senior employment consultant at Croner, says: "There is no

doubt that flexible working for people with families is a good thing. The

Government has done much to improve and modernise UK legislation so that

more people can work flexibly to improve their work-life balance. However it is

not good news for the UK's older workers after the Government shelved plans

to extend flexible working."

Plans to extend flexible working to all workers were announced in

May 2011

when the government launched a consultation on modern workplaces.

According to the Department for Business Innovation & Skills, the Government

will publish its response in spring 2012. However, the Government has now

cancelled all plans to extend flexible working.

"In spite of the absence of extended flexible working legislation, Croner

recommends that employers should have flexible working policies that do not

disadvantage other groups within their workforce," says Carol Smith.

"This will not only help to avoid possible workplace conflict but improve

employee relations, help with recruitment and retaining staff and almost

certainly improve productivity.

"Organisations should begin by carefully considering what they want to achieve.

They should review how work is currently organised and what flexible options

are available that could make this change. It is important to consult employees

and customers on the planned changes to ensure they understand that there

will be a possible change to people's working patterns."