The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Employer Perceptions of Part-time Working: the implications for economic recovery and future working
Lead Research Organisation:
CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY
Department Name: Sch of Management
Abstract
Covid-19 has caused a severe shock to the UK economy, with the highest level of unemployment since the 1980s predicted (Office for Budget Responsibility). Part-time working is increasingly, and internationally, recognised as an alternative to unemployment in a recession, avoiding the costs of benefit payments, loss of tax receipts and some social and health costs of unemployment, whilst retaining skills in the economy. Despite demand from employees, particularly certain demographics, employers have often perceived part-time working as costly and inconvenient, struggling to create quality part-time jobs. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme's (CJRS), 'flexible furlough' provision allowing employees to work part-time and be part-time furloughed, has effectively been an experiment in part-time working for many employers.
This research is designed to examine employers' experiences of using part-time working under this scheme and whether this has changed their perceptions of its feasibility. Conducting semistructured interviews with managers from selected sectors at two time points, together with a large-scale, representative survey, the research seeks to understand employer responses and whether their perceptions and practices have changed. The findings will have implications for government policy relating to the role of part-time working in the economic recovery and the encouragement and support government needs to provide for employers.
The research will be carried out in collaboration with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), to enable data collection from a large number of UK employers (c. 20 000) and facilitate impact, together with a Steering Group with membership from professional organisations and government.
This research is designed to examine employers' experiences of using part-time working under this scheme and whether this has changed their perceptions of its feasibility. Conducting semistructured interviews with managers from selected sectors at two time points, together with a large-scale, representative survey, the research seeks to understand employer responses and whether their perceptions and practices have changed. The findings will have implications for government policy relating to the role of part-time working in the economic recovery and the encouragement and support government needs to provide for employers.
The research will be carried out in collaboration with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), to enable data collection from a large number of UK employers (c. 20 000) and facilitate impact, together with a Steering Group with membership from professional organisations and government.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Clare Kelliher (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Gascoigne C
(2023)
Five ways to make part-time working easier and more available, according to new research
in The Conversation
Gascoigne, C
(2022)
The Future of Part-time Working: the impact of flexible furlough
Gascoigne, C
(2021)
Influences on Employers' Provision of Part-time Working : an evidence review
Kelliher C
(2022)
Part-time Working and the UK's Flexible (Part-time) Furlough Scheme
| Description | To date the first stage of the project (the Evidence Review) has been completed. The second stage first round interviews have been completed and initial analysis conduction. Further analysis is on-going. Findings from the evidence review - The influences on employers' provision of part-time working operate at several levels - national, sectoral, occupational and organisational. - Part-time working is often considered as part of a bundle of flexible working or work-life practices, but there is a need to distinguish between influences on employers' provision of flexible working in general, and part-time working in particular. - There has been research on the influence of national legislation and cultural expectations on employers' flexible working and work-life balance policies, but part-time working is a small element of this much broader field, with a different cost-benefit profile for employers, and different work design challenges for line managers. The differences in rates of part-time working across developed economies attest to the influence of national context, such as working time legislation, and attitudes to gender and childcare. There are also varying rates of part-time working in different sectors and occupations: the nature of the work, the gender balance in the sector or occupation, the availability of skilled workers and the normal operating hours may all influence employers' provision of part-time working. - The complex interrelationships of these factors may partly account for the policy-practice gap, which is sometimes under-represented in quantitative studies of work-life balance and flexible working. - At the organisational level, the key benefit for employers concerns the attraction and retention of talent, although there is a lack of evidence that employers encourage part-time, as opposed to flexible, working; or that they actively promote part-time working, as opposed to having a policy and responding to individual workers' requests. There is also evidence that employers use part-time working to cover peaks in labour demand or extended operating hours in sectors such as retail or hospitality; the driver here is the efficient use of resources rather than the creation of good jobs or work-life balance for workers, but such working hours are not necessarily negative for all workers. - The evidence on the performance of part-time workers is inconclusive: while qualitative studies report that part-time workers, particularly knowledge workers, often deliver similar outputs to full-time workers, this has not been studied in depth. These benefits need to be set against the costs of part-time working for employers. Two obvious and easy to quantify costs, frequently mentioned in the older literature, are the quasi-fixed, per-person costs of employment, such as recruitment and training, and the administrative costs of adapting HR and management systems designed for full-time workers. The quasi-fixed costs of employment in managerial and professional work are particularly significant, not only because of the higher ongoing need for training and development, but also because of the time spent in activities such as networking, organisational learning and team meetings. Much harder to quantify, but still significant, particularly in managerial and professional work, are the costs of redesigning working practices such as the coordination of work, or team communication, to suit part-time incumbents. Initial Analysis of the interview data has found that: Learnings for organisations from the use of the 'flexible furlough scheme' relate to factors associated with the organisation of work including substitutability; handovers; multi-skilling; availability patterns/dealing with gaps and matching to business needs; creative disruption from variations in demand levels. In addition openness to greater part-time working has been influenced by wider influences during the pandemic (including a trickle-down effect from widespread working from home) and responses to changing employee demand. The combined findings from the project are detailed in the report 'Part-time working after the pandemic: The impact of the flexible furlough scheme' published in January 2023. The research found that experience of using the flexible furlough scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic created opportunities for employers to learn about part-time working, suggesting that experimentation can be an effective way of influencing managers' thinking about different ways of working and demonstrating their feasibility. 1. Significant learning was found about how to design and manage part-time working more effectively as a result of the experience of using the flexible furlough scheme. This included overcoming some of the perceived challenges of managing part-time workers which have impeded the availability of part-time working opportunities, such as calibration of workload in line with reduced hours, matching resources to demand levels and dealing with gaps in availability. 2. Greater openness from managers to part-time working was found as a result of their experiences of using the flexible furlough scheme. Operating with staff who worked part-time and were part-furloughed as businesses recovered served to challenge existing perceptions about the difficulty of operating with part-time staff. This greater openness led to increased willingness to consider requests from current staff and job applicants. In some cases a more proactive approaches creating opportunities for part-time working was adopted. Like the 'great working from home experiment' the finding from this research demonstrate the value of innovation and experimentation in the management of employees in organisations. |
| Exploitation Route | These findings may inform employer responses regarding both policy and practice in relation to the availability of part-time working. They may feed into policy decisions about the factors influencing opportunities for wider labour market participation by those unable of unwilling to work full-time. We are working with government, policy organisation and employer and employee representative organisations to help inform policy and practice. These finding have particular relevance as responses to both the labour shortages experienced by employers and the challenges for government of helping the economically inactive back into work by offering alternative ways of working. |
| Sectors | Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Retail,Transport |
| URL | https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/expertise/changing-world-of-work/the-future-of-part-time-working/esrc-report-part-time-working-after-the-pandemic |
| Description | Throughout the project we have been in regular dialogue with civil service departments, policy organisations and employer groups. Since the publication of the overall findings published in January 2023 the focus of this dialogue is how the findings can contribute to responses to current challenges. For employers this relates both the current labour shortages and to promoting greater equality, diversity and inclusion. For government this relates to how alternative employment models may help bring some of those that are economically inactive back into work. the |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | CBI-Cranfield Data Collection Collaboration |
| Organisation | Confederation of British Industry (CBI) |
| Department | Confederation of British Industries |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We have worked with the CBI to develop the survey instrument for the research. The CBI worked with us as partners on running the employer survey which was distributed to their employer members. They conducted the initial analysis and published the report from the first stage of the findings. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The CBI have collaborated with us in a number of ways in addition to acting as sub-contractors to run the survey element of data collection. To date this has included 1) Introduction to Industry/Trade Associations that are CBI members and the and CBI's Inclusion, Skills and Employment network to assist with securing access for the qualitative data collection; 2) Assisting with the dissemination of findings to through their networks. In addition to running the employer survey, the CBI have worked with is to engage with employers and policy makers and have also been an active member of the Steering Group throughout the project. |
| Impact | Access for the qualitative work secured for approximately 16 of the 35 interviews conducted. Report from the first stage of the survey finding published (details provided) |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | All Party Parliamentary Group Women and Work |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | We presented our work at a meeting of the Women and Work All Party Parliamentary Group as part of a session on Women and the Cost of Living Crisis. This presentation and subsequent discussion allowed us to inform parliamentarians and policy makes about the main findings of the research. A summary of our work is included in the APPG Annual Report |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Bright Blue and Unions 21 Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Professor Clare Kelliher was an invited member of the roundtable on Flexi-future? The Future of Work in the UK co-sponsored by Bright Blue and Unions 21. Our research led to discussion of the greater need for part-time working opportunities in the UK, with particular interest from trade unions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Meeting with further government departments |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | In addition to the formal Steering Group, we are meeting on a regular basis with representatives from two further government departments. As with the Steering Group the purpose of these meetings is hold discussions to inform the research, help with sense making of the findings and disseminate for potential impact on policy. We had two meetings of this nature with each department in 2021 and these followed a similar schedule and format as the Steering Group. These meeting continued to take place throughout the duration of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022,2023 |
| Description | Presentation to CBI Employment and Skills Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The research findings were presented to the CBI Employment and Skills Board. the Employment and Skills Board comprises representatives from their membership including major employers. Following the presentation there was discussion about the implementation of part-time working and employer openness to it |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Press releases about findings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press releases were issued in January 2023 and in June 2022 and January 2023 when the two research reports were launched. The first was concerned with the collaboration with the CBI publishing the first wave of the survey data and the second was the final report presenting an overview of the findings. These resulted in pick up and reporting of the findings in the general and business press. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Project Findings Launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The project findings were launched an event in Westminster to an audience of parliamentarians and policy makers. The event include a panel discussion with invited experts and chaired by former employment minister, Jo Swinson. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Project Steering Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | An expert project Steering Group was set up at the beginning of the project and is chaired by former Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson. The purpose of the group is to guide its work, assist with sense-making of the findings and to act as routes to impact, both directly in their roles/their organisational roles and through their networks. Membership comprise representatives from the Confederation of British Industry, the Trades Union Congress, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the Chartered Management Institute, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Government Equalities Office, and the Department of Work and Pensions. The Steering Group has met twice to date (June and December 2020). In addition to meetings with the group as a whole, we have engaged with some members individually between meetings to discuss specific issues and share particular findings. The Steering Group continued to meet on a regular basis until the end of the project (December 2021, May 2022, September, 2022). The meetings focused on presenting the findings at each stage to the Steering Group and discussions about the implications of these for policy and practice. Participation rates remained high throughout the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Webinar Future of Flexible Working |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The research findings were presented at the webinar followed by a panel discussion and audience Q & A. The focus of the webinar was the implications of the findings for leaders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Work Wellness Institute Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation at the Work Wellness Institute Conference. the purpose was to disseminate the research findings to a practitioner audience and help attendees understand the practical implications of the findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |