Guest blog: Fair flexibility still has to be won for all workers. By Frances O'Grady, General Secretary, TUC

Millions of people worked from home during the pandemic. Employers realised at long last that it can be a great option. And the government has consulted on stronger flexible working rights, with promises of new legislation.

It’s all going great – right?

It should be. But the fight for fair flexibility at work is far from won. And Boris Johnson’s government is breaking its promises.

First the genuine good news. Homeworking and hybrid working as part of people’s regular working pattern has tripled since the pandemic. And while there are problems in some cases, lots of workers are embracing this opportunity and having positive experiences.

Many more employers are now convinced that homeworking works. The technology works. As unions have been saying for years, staff don’t slack – in fact overworking is the bigger worry, along with employers who fail to respect boundaries between work and home life.

But despite the step change in homeworking, new TUC analysis published today shows that there has been very little change in other types of flexible working.

Lots of people can’t access homeworking because of the nature of their job. And they are often in low paid work.

TUC research from June 2021 found that people in higher-paid occupations were much more likely to have worked from home during the pandemic (60%) than those in working-class jobs (23%).

We need to unlock the flexibility in all jobs – and around working hours as well as location. We need to do it quickly, because a new class divide has appeared the workforce with unequal access to flexible working. And it needs to be fair flexibility, rather than the sham flexibility of zero-hours contracts.

There is a flexible option that will work for every type of job. Employers should be required to think upfront about the flexible working options that are available in a role, and publish these in all job adverts. 

Every worker should be allowed to work flexibly from day one – unless the employer can properly justify why this is not possible. Workers should have the right to appeal any rejections. And there should be no limit on how many times you can ask for flexible working arrangements in a year.

Last year, it seemed like the government was finally going to act. A consultation was held on proposals to strengthen flexible working rights. And ministers kept promising a new employment bill to strengthen workers’ rights to – the perfect vehicle for the changes needed.

We counted 20 occasions in the last year when government ministers promised that an employment bill was on its way. But this spring, the promises disappeared. And when the government laid out its legislation programme in the Queen’s speech earlier this month, the employment bill was missing.

Even the steps forward in homeworking don’t feel safe. Jacob Rees Mogg has been sneaking around Whitehall leaving notes on workers desks telling them to go back to the office.

We cannot afford to let up the pressure on government to follow through on their promises. Please add your support to our campaign and sign our petition.