Part-time working

Part-time working is still the most prevalent form of flexible working. It is used principally as a family-friendly policy and for business reasons to carry out jobs which are finite in time or to adjust staffing to cover specific peaks in business activity during the working week. It is growing as it becomes more easily extended to the senior managerial positions, in particular for women returning from maternity leave.

Temporary working

Workers are employed on a fixed-term or casual contract basis. The principal reasons for using temporary workers are to adjust staffing to meet business requirements, to cover for leave of absence (eg maternity or term-time working staff), to fulfil specific finite projects and as general cover for staffing needs that cannot otherwise be met (eg holidays or sickness absence).

Term-time working

This is a family-friendly practice enabling mainly, but not necessarily, women to be at home during the school holidays. Contracts can be permanent or temporary; the former are easier to administer. Payroll issues arise around all year pro rata payments or payment for time spent at work only, with authorised unpaid leave being granted during school holidays.

Zero hours

This is a variation on annual hours. The main difference is that employees are kept on a register but not guaranteed any specific job or hours of work.

Teleworking

This is homeworking for white-collar staff and is discussed elsewhere.

Freelance/portfolio working

This is self-employment for professionals, frequently involving the use of information technology and working from home. A typical example involves a temporary desk with a computer in an office which is used for part of the week. The boundaries between freelance and teleworking can be grey areas. Freelancers are often called on to bring in specialist skills, to be involved in defined projects and sometimes as a result of their own request to work independently.

Job sharing

This is defined by one job being split and carried out by two (or more) job holders.

Benefits

The benefits to the organisation of using flexible working practices are flexiblity to cover peaks and troughs, a concern to bring specialist skills into the organisation and to call on these as and when required, thus cutting out unproductive paid time. In addition, job sharing promotes equal opportunities, shows the organisation takes into account family-friendly considerations and helps to retain skilled labour.