Almost a third of fathers lack access to flexible work arrangements

Almost a third of working fathers in the UK lack access to flexible work arrangements, according to new research from UCL. The British Sociological Association's annual conference in Newcastle heard today that 30% of employed fathers surveyed could not work part-time, have flexible employment hours or work in a job share. The rate for women without flexible working was lower - 10%, the researchers, from the UCL Institute of Education, the University of East Anglia, and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) found. The researchers examined data on 3,965 mothers and 4,211 fathers who were in employment and had children aged 16 or younger. They found that: 42% of fathers and 78% of mothers had the opportunity to work part-time  19% of fathers and 31% of mothers had the opportunity to work in a job share  13% of fathers and 28% of mothers could work during term-time only 38% of fathers and 37% of mothers could work in a flexi-time arrangement 23% of fathers and 19% of mothers could work from home 30% of fathers and 10% of mothers reported that none of these options were available. All staff who have worked for at least six months in a job have the right to ask for flexible working arrangements, and employers can only refuse if they have a good business reason. Fathers in lower status occupations, in the private sector, and in non-unionized workplaces had less access to flexible working, compared to fathers in professional and managerial occupations, the public sector, and unionized workplaces.