Future Trends in the Regulatory Reform of Work-Life

Future Trends in the Regulatory Reform of Work-Life Balance in the UK Ian Roper Middlesex University London

Future Trends in the Regulatory Reform of Work-Life Balance in the UK • Background to Policy agenda – Incrementalist approach to equality – ‘Flexibility’ • Employer attitudes: some empirical evidence • Recent developments

The WLB Policy Agenda Equality and Incrementalism • Basic Issue: who should bear the ‘burden’ of childcare? – The family? – The state? – Employers? • Policy framework therefore straddles equality, welfare, employment

The WLB Policy Agenda Equality and Incrementalism • Linda Dickens (2007) – Approach to employment equality disjointed – Different internal sources of pressure • Campaigns; ‘shocks’ e. g. Disability Discrimination Act 1995; Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 – Different external sources • Influence of US civil rights movement; EU – EU influence significant • Gender, race, disability, parental leave, PT and temp worker rights

The WLB Policy Agenda Equality and Incrementalism • Paid maternity leave since 1975 • Since 1997 – extension of maternity leave to 12 months – limited right to parental leave – limited right to paid paternity leave – right to ‘request’ flexible working

The WLB Policy Agenda Equality and Incrementalism • EU influence: Social Chapter – Parental Leave Directive – Equalisation of PT and temp workers rights • Greater emphasis on equal pay systems in public sector (Corby 2007) – NHS, local government, education

The WLB Policy Agenda Flexibility • 1979 -97 ‘the flexible firm’ (Atkinson 1984) • The role of legislation – Curtail individual rights – Restrict union’s ability to ‘resist change’ • Example: – 1979 eligibility to claim unfair dismissal = 6 months employment – 1997 = 24 months

The WLB Policy Agenda Flexibility

The WLB Policy Agenda Flexibility (WERS 98)

Proportion of workforce being paid at lower than equivalent of NMW (1998)

New Labour • • ‘Flexibility and fairness’ Explicit link to equality diminished Emphasis on ‘business case’ and ‘best practice’ Additional link to “welfare to work” policy (Douglas and Freedland 2007)

New Labour

New Labour: flexibility and the business case • Costs of recruitment vs retention – Transaction costs – Training costs – Employer branding and recruitment costs

New Labour: flexibility and the welfare to work issue

New Labour: flexibility and the ‘social justice case’

Labour’s Policy Agenda • Employment Relations Act 1999 – extension of maternity leave to 12 months – limited right to parental leave – limited right to paid paternity leave – right to ‘request’ flexible working • Incremental additions to maternity leave • Incremental additions to paternity leave

Labour’s Policy Agenda • Related importance of EU Directives on. . . – Parental leave – Working time – Part time workers – Temporary workers

As things stand. . . • Maternity leave = paid 9 months; 3 months unpaid • Paternity leave = 2 weeks paid • Parental leave = up to 13 weeks unpaid parental leave for each child to age 5 • Right to transfer maternity leave between parents • Right to request flexible working hours (good business reason required if refused) • Right to (unpaid) time off for ‘family emergencies’

Maternity Pay Details (with thanks to Alex Heron) • All are entitled to 12 months unpaid maternity leave • ‘Statutory Maternity Pay’ (SMP) paid by employer and claimed back from gov’t • SMP entitlement requires 26 weeks continuous service • Rate of SMP: – First 6 weeks @ 90% full pay – Next 33 weeks @ capped rate (currently £ 125 pw) – Final 13 weeks unpaid

New Labour: the impact of employment regulation

WLB and Employee Voice • “right to request” principle in WLB implies link • employment rights enhancements individual not collective (Smith and Morton 2001; 2006) • …leaving gap in enactment • Voice conventionally distinguished as being • Employee Participation (e. g. collective bargaining) • Employee involvement (one way; unitarist oriented)

Employer Attitudes: Evidence • Some employer buy-in to WLB business case, however • WERS 2004 manager attitudes: –WLB viewed as individual choice » 69% in private sector; 47% in public » more frequent in SMEs » less frequent where union recognised

Employer Attitudes: Evidence (Roper et al 2003) • broad support for ‘family friendly policies’ • more support for the abstract principle than practical advantages: • ideological basis of support among managers outweighed opposition. . . • Whereas business-case opposition outweighed business-case support

Employer Attitudes: Empirical Evidence

Combined Approval/Impact Rank

Combined Approval/Impact Rank

Combined Approval/Impact Rank

Approval/Impact: Findings

2007 Follow-up • Survey follow-up to 2000 survey (2007) • Ask approval and benefit of range of WLBoriented policies • Voice categorised to WERS terminology • Significant problems with data collection – no response bias data and low response rate (190) – uses restricted to use as pilot

Findings: General views on WLB • Approval ratings (Likert 7 -point scale) – Maternity Leave – Parental Leave – Paternity leave – Adoption leave – Flexible working hours – Continuous employment beyond retirement 3. 57 3. 74 3. 04 3. 99 3. 43 2. 59

Findings: General views on WLB • Impact ratings (Likert 7 -point scale) – Maternity Leave – Parental Leave – Paternity leave – Adoption leave – Flexible working hours – Continuous employment beyond retirement 4. 66 4. 42 4. 25 4. 47 4. 29 3. 52

Findings: General views on WLB • Significant difference depending on job title of respondent. e. g. maternity leave approval. . . – HR Function = – General/line manager = – Director/CEO = – Other management = – all = 80% 53% 34% 24% 52% • This replicated 2000 findings

Employee Voice and WLB • Approval ratings (maternity leave) – – – – – Union consultation = Non-union reps = Workforce meetings = Team briefings = Intranet = Staff survey = Suggestion scheme “Open door” management philosophy (All) 75% 62. 5% 58% 55% 64% 75% 56% 53% 54%

Employee voice and implied management style • Proxies created from hybrid • Range of models • Purcell (1987) Storey and Bacon (1993) Marchington and Parker (1990), Sisson (200), Guest & Conway (1999) • Participation = yes/no • Involvement = cumulative

Employee voice and implied management style • Voice mechanisms = – Collective, ‘participation’ – Union recognition, EWC – Individual, ‘involvement’ – Non-union reps, team briefings, intranet, staff survey, suggestion schemes – No voice – None of above, or only ‘open-door management philosophy’

Employee voice and implied management style

Employee voice and implied management style

Employee voice and implied management style • Positive association between approval of bundle of WLB policies and presence of collective voice • Positive association with general presence of voice mechanisms

New Research and Caveats • Further analysis of existing data: • Multivariate analysis indicates complex interaction between gender composition and skill-mix of workforce • Existing dataset is limited for further analysis • New survey? • “things have moved on”…

Things have moved on 1. The recession – Essence of Govt approach (voluntarism; best practice) undermined? – Employer using flexibility to mitigate against redundancy? – The ‘new backlash’ (Christine Brewer; Katherine Hakim) 2. General Election (May 2010) – New Labour’s new enthusiasm for equality? – ‘Red Toryism’?

New-Labour? • Consolidation of equalities – Equalities and Human Rights Commission – Equalities Bill 2010 • The rediscovery of income inequality – Institutional barriers – Active duty to promote equality by public bodies

Election 2010

Labour Manifesto • More flexibility to transfer maternity leave after 6 months • ‘Fathers Month’ paid leave • Extend ‘right to request’ to grandparents

‘Red Tories’? (Philip Blond) • 2007: Cameron ‘detoxifying’ the brand • 2007: No longer the ‘mouthpiece of big business’ • Circa 2008: Conservative Women’s Policy Group (circa 2008) – Retain all existing – Strengthen equal pay audit system – Extend right to request flexible working (but with no compulsion)

‘Red Tories’? • . . . or ‘same old Tories’? – Renewed hostility to EU – Opt-out of Working Time Directive – Married couple’s tax allowance – Means-test family tax credits

Election 2010

Manifesto • Extend ‘right to request’ to – All parents with child under 18 – Everyone in public sector –. . . eventually to everyone • Extend right to request flexible working (but with no compulsion)

Summary • UK regulatory approach to WLB framed by. . . – Incrementalism – Link to welfare agenda – Link to flexibility • Seems to have reached new political consensus – ‘WLB is good’ – But strongly tied to business-case and voluntarism – May lead to polarisation in labour market segments