Minister battles long working hours

Tuesday, 6 September 2005 12:00 AM

A new drive to give Britons more flexibility in the workplace and to cut the long-hours working culture was announced today by the employment minister.

Gerry Sutcliffe pledged to work with business and unions to improve people's work-life balance by ensuring they work "smarter rather than longer".

Figures from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) show that last year 11 per cent of Britons regularly worked longer than 48 hours a week. The problem was particularly acute in the private sector and in workplaces where there was no union representation.

And today Mr Sutcliffe announced that the DTI, the TUC and the CBI are setting up a new project to work together to address the problem.

"Changing working patterns can benefit everyone - employers, workers and their families. The government is firmly committed to giving people real choice about their working hours to achieve greater work-life balance," he said.

"While regulation has a part to play, creating a culture where we work smarter rather than longer is key to improving worker satisfaction, as well as improving competitiveness, productivity and retaining skilled workers."

Measures such as part-time working, flexitime, job-sharing or annualised hours have already been introduced in many of the larger workplaces and in the public sector, with women in particular benefiting from more flexible working.

The project launched today intends to allow businesses to showcase how they have improved working practices for their employees, and for firms to share best practice.

"Lots of organisations have shown that we can beat Britain's long hours culture by working smarter," said Brendan Barber, the general secretary of the TUC.

"Unions do believe in proper regulation, but this initiative shows that workplaces can do even better when managers and employees work together."

Deputy director general of the CBI John Cridland added: "Maximising company performance by modernising working patterns is a key issue for UK firms.

"This project demonstrates how involving employees in new patterns of work can raise productivity, reduce absenteeism and give people a better work-life balance.

"Both business performance and employee satisfaction are improved and these are at the heart of any high-performance workplace."

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