Employers are being urged to widen entry to versatile working throughout 2026, forward of deliberate adjustments to employment legislation that may make flexibility the default except it may be proven to be unreasonable. A brand new report from the Work Basis at Lancaster College means that employees with long run well being circumstances and people in low paid roles are considerably much less prone to have entry to versatile working preparations, regardless of proof that such measures can assist job retention and participation.
The findings are primarily based on a survey of three,796 working individuals carried out by the Work Basis and the Centre for Organisational Well being and Nicely-Being at Lancaster College. They arrive because the UK enters 2026 with well being associated financial inactivity near report ranges.
The analysis reveals that the most typical types of flexibility reported by UK employees embody having autonomy over how each day duties are carried out, versatile working hours and the flexibility to work from totally different areas, together with dwelling. Nonetheless, employees with long run well being circumstances have been discovered to be much less possible than these with out to have entry to all three. They have been 9 share factors much less prone to have autonomy over each day duties or versatile hours, and twelve share factors much less prone to have flexibility over the place they work.
The evaluation additionally highlights a pointy divide linked to pay. Employees incomes underneath £25,000 a yr have been considerably much less prone to report entry to flexibility than these incomes £60,000 or extra. Simply over half of low revenue employees stated they’d management over how they carried out their each day duties, in comparison with greater than 4 fifths of upper earners. Fewer than half of low revenue employees reported having versatile working hours, whereas greater than three quarters of upper paid employees did. Entry to versatile work areas was additionally far decrease amongst decrease paid workers.
Workers at present have a statutory proper to request versatile working from their first day in a task. Below the Employment Rights Act 2025, because of come into impact in 2027, versatile working will change into the default place for employers.
Ben Harrison, director of the Work Basis, stated versatile working may very well be decisive for individuals managing well being circumstances. He stated the organisation’s evaluation confirmed that employees who expertise a well being setback with out entry to flexibility are 4 instances extra prone to go away work. He argued that employers ought to act now moderately than look forward to legislative change.
The researchers additionally emphasised that flexibility shouldn’t be understood solely as hybrid or distant working. Survey respondents with long run well being circumstances reported that having better management over job duties, work tempo, hours, location and even position design was significantly useful in managing their well being whereas remaining in work.
