Almost a third of fathers lack access to flexible work arrangements

The rate for women without flexible working was lower - 10%, the researchers, from the IOE, the University of East Anglia, and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) found.

The researchers examined data on 3,965 mothers and 4,211 fathers who were in employment and had children aged 16 or younger. They found that:

• 42% of fathers and 78% of mothers had the opportunity to work part-time 
• 19% of fathers and 31% of mothers had the opportunity to work in a job share 
• 13% of fathers and 28% of mothers could work during term-time only
• 38% of fathers and 37% of mothers could work in a flexi-time arrangement
• 23% of fathers and 19% of mothers could work from home
• 30% of fathers and 10% of mothers reported that none of these options were available.

All staff who have worked for at least six months in a job have the right to ask for flexible working arrangements, and employers can only refuse if they have a good business reason.

Fathers in lower status occupations, in the private sector, and in non-unionized workplaces had less access to flexible working, compared to fathers in professional and managerial occupations, the public sector, and unionized workplaces.

The researchers were: Rose Cook and Professor Margaret O'Brien, of UCL Institute of Education; Professor Sara Connolly and Dr Matthew Aldrich, of the University of East Anglia; and Dr Svetlana Speight, of NatCen.

Ms Cook told the conference: "This research underscores both a striking lack of access among fathers in general, and that flexible working is not being made sufficiently available to all groups of working fathers.

"For fathers, both individual characteristics and features of workplaces are important in determining lack of access to flexible working.

"Fathers' lack of access to flexible working is associated with a combination of disadvantages relating to low education, lower status occupations, private sector employers and lack of union presence."

By analysing the data, the researchers found that fathers in technical occupations were almost three times more likely to lack access to flexible working than those in professional and managerial positions.

Media contact

Rowan Walker, UCL Media Relations
rowan.walker@ucl.ac.uk
+44 (0)20 3108 8516

Links

• Inequalities in access to paid maternity, paternity leave and flexible work
• British Sociological Association annual conference 2018
• View Professor Margaret O'Brien's research profile
• Thomas Coram Research Unit
• Department of Social Science