A working paper analysed the role played by differences between firms on the one hand, and between individuals on the other, in the observed variation in hours of work. Within firms, preference characteristics had a statistically and economically significant effect on hours of work.
Source: Mark Bryan, Workers, Workplaces and Working Hours, Working Paper 2004-25, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
A survey of workers experiences of the Working Time Regulations found that 58 per cent of long-hours workers said that they would be happy if their employer limited them to working no more than 48 hours a week. However, only one fifth of this group (12 per cent of all long-hours workers) said they would remain happy working fewer hours if this meant a loss of earnings.
Source: BMRB Social Research, A Survey of Workers Experiences of the Working Time Regulations, Employment Relations Research Series 31, Department of Trade and Industry (020 7215 5177)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
A report said that by the year 2020 a quarter of the entire population (over 13 million people) would be economically active between the hours of 6pm and 9am.
Source: The Shape of Things to Come, Mint/Royal Bank of Scotland (020 7672 5085)
Links: Proposal (pdf) | Future Foundation press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
The European Commission proposed, following consultation, a revision of the Working Time Directive. Proposed changes included: opting out would only be possible if expressly allowed under collective agreement or agreement between the social partners, or (if there were no employee-employer forum for negotiations) obtained directly from the worker; to be valid, consent to opting out could not be given at the same time as the contract of employment was signed or during any probation period, and would have to be given in writing; consent would be valid for a maximum of one year (renewable); the maximum working time would be 65 hours a week; and employers would have to keep records of the number of hours actually worked. Trade unions called the proposals 'disappointing'.
Source: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/88/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time, European Commission (empl-info@cec.eu.int) | Press release 22 September 2004, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Proposal (pdf) | EC press release | TUC press release | IOD press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
A think-tank report proposed a 'radical re-think' of working time debates. It said that workers responded well to a much higher degree of choice, flexibility and control over working time over the course of their working lives. Yet, with the notable exception of part-time working, businesses had been slow to adopt more flexible ways of working and more sophisticated outputs-based ways of measuring productivity.
Source: Alexandra Jones, The Labour of Hours: Is managing time the route to smarter working?, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Work Foundation press release
Date: 2004-Jul
The government began consultation on long-hours working, and the way the individual opt-out from the European Union 48-hour working time limit operated in the United Kingdom. It said it was committed to retaining the opt-out in order to protect employee choice and workplace flexibility, but was also determined to make sure it was being used correctly.
Source: A Preliminary Consultation on Long Hours Working in the UK and the Application and Operation of the Working Time Opt Out, Department of Trade and Industry (0870 150 2500)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | DTI press release | TUC press release | CIPD press release
Date: 2004-Jun
A House of Lords committee recommended that the individual voluntary opt-out from the European Union working time directive should be retained.
Source: The Working Time Directive: Response to the European Commission's review, Ninth Report (Session 2003-04), HL 67, House of Lords European Union Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | EOC press release
Date: 2004-Apr
A report said that the United Kingdom had one of the highest rates of part-time work in Europe, and a very wide gap between the pay of women who worked part-time and men who worked full-time.
Source: Michael Thewlis, Linda Miller and Fiona Neathey, Advancing Women in the Workplace: Statistical analysis, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244) and Women and Equality Unit/Department of Trade and Industry
Links: Report (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2004-Mar
A survey found that a majority of those who worked more than 48 hours a week did so largely as a result of their own choice rather than employer compulsion.
Source: Calling Time on Working Time?, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (020 8971 9000)
Links: CIPD press release
Date: 2004-Mar
A research study found that, in the main, managing absences was not a major issue of concern for employers. Indeed, in response to recruitment difficulties there were instances of organisations introducing initiatives aimed at improving employees' work-life balance. Though management did not systemically collect information to monitor absence, sickness absence was seen to be on the decline, while non-sickness absence was on the increase (though from a low base). Generally, unplanned absences caused more problems than planned absences.
Source: Stephen Bevan, Sally Dench, Heather Harper and Sue Hayday, How Employers Manage Absence, Employment Relations Research Series 25, Department of Trade and Industry (020 7215 5177)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Mar
A paper said that there appeared to be an unsatisfied demand for the greater use of project-based work, especially among employers; and that this might be being blocked by a lack of suitable contractual forms, such as those that had underpinned the established open-ended employment relationship.
Source: David Marsden, The 'Network Economy' and Models of the Employment Contract: Psychological, economic and legal, DP620, Centre for Economic Performance/London School of Economics (020 7955 7673)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Abstract
Date: 2004-Feb
An article examined how the UK 2000 Time Use Survey could be analysed in various ways to gain a better understanding of the labour market and participants behaviour within it. The data give a broad view of how full- or part-time workers balanced the demands on their time compared with others such as retired or unemployed people, and offered the potential for investigating aspects of the work-life balance for different types of respondents. A related article by the same author identified quality limitations in existing data on hours worked, and used data available from the Survey to examine estimates in further detail.
Source: Richard Williams, 'An introduction to the UK Time Use Survey from a labour market perspective', Labour Market Trends, February 2004, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Richard Williams, 'Investigating hours worked measurements', Labour Market Trends, February 2004, Office for National Statistics, TSO
Links: Articles (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb
An article explored the recent growth in total hours worked. Total hours worked by those in employment in the summer quarter of 2003 were 1.5 per cent higher than in summer 2002. The total of 906.8 million hours a week in summer 2003 was close to the highest level recorded since the series began in 1992.
Source: Richard Williams, 'Recent changes in hours worked, summer 2003', Labour Market Trends, January 2004, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jan