Hays Reveals Over Half of Employers Welcome Flexible Working Legislation Despite Extra Cost

Hays has released new research that shows the majority of employers would welcome new legislation requiring them to offer flexible working options to all employees

LONDON, August 5, 2010 - Hays, the leading recruiting expert, has revealed the results of new
research that shows over half of employers (55 per cent) welcome plans by the
Government to introduce legislation requiring them to offer flexible working
to all employees. Seventy per cent expect an increase in requests for
flexible working and nearly 40 per cent are bracing themselves for a
resulting impact on their budgets.

The survey of over 680 workers and 420 employers undertaken by Hays
(www.hays.co.uk/) in June 2010 found that more private sector
employers expect an increase in their costs if staff take up the offer of
flexible working than in the public sector (44 per cent, compared to 33 per
cent).

Employers offer flexible working primarily as way of supporting their
employees, with just 18 per cent reporting it is just to comply with existing
legislation. Only 29 per cent feel offering flexible working is integral to
the success of their business.

From the perspective of employees, almost half of all workers (46 per
cent) say their current employer does not encourage flexible working, rising
to over half in the private sector. Furthermore, some of the options most
sought after by employees are the ones they believe are unavailable.

An overwhelming 85 per cent of staff says that if their employer were to
introduce more flexible working options, such as working from home or job
shares, they would be more likely to stay with them. Not surprisingly, 95 per
cent of staff says flexible working improves work-life balance and over 20
per cent see these policies as an "essential" when choosing a job.

Charles Logan, Director at Hays, commented: "Employers and their staff
see flexible working policies as a positive move but more needs to be done to
make sure these are implemented in the workplace. Our research indicates that
employers offer flexible working options to support their employees, with a
comparatively small number saying they adopt flexible working simply to
conform to current legislation. The research shows clear evidence that
flexible working can improve productivity and work-balance, if employers can
make the types most desired by staff available."

Workers report that the main reason they have used flexible working is to
gain more personal time (35 per cent) and to cope with care arrangements for
children or elderly relatives (29 per cent) - a trend only set to increase
with future demographic changes. Over half of employees say the practice of
working from home increases their productivity levels and report that they
have the technology in place to allow them to do so.

"As pay freezes remain in place for many organisations, across both
sectors, looking at how to retain your staff and keep them engaged is moving
up the agenda. Offering simple flexible working options could make the
difference between keeping or losing staff at a critical time, when the best
employees are needed to drive recovery," added Logan.

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is the leading global specialist recruiting group.
It is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people
worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Australia and one of the
market leaders in Continental Europe. It operates across the private and
public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary
assignments.

The Group employs 6,933 staff operating from 345 offices in 28 countries
across 17 specialisms, including construction jobs
(www.hays.co.uk/construction), banking jobs
(www.hays.co.uk/banking), teaching assistant jobs
(www.hays.co.uk/education/teachingassistants/), hr jobs
(www.hays.co.uk/hr) and health and safety jobs.

For the year ended 30 June 2009:

    - The Group had revenues of GBP2.4 billion, net fees of GBP670.8 million
      and operating profit of GBP158 million.

    - The Group placed around 50,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around
      270,000 people into temporary assignments.

    - The temporary placement business represented 56% of net fees and the
      permanent placement business represented 44% of net fees.

    Claire Fowler
    Hays
    2nd Floor
    Stockley House
    130 Wilton Road
    London
    SW1V 1LQ
    +44(0)20-7259-8821
    www.hays.com

Claire Fowler, Hays, 2nd Floor, Stockley House, 130 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LQ,
+44(0)20-7259-8821