Public and Commercial Services Union

Workers in the UK currently work the longest hours in Europe, take the shortest lunch breaks and enjoy the fewest public holidays.

Childcare is expensive and difficult to find, care for older people is of inconsistent quality and financial support during family related leave is lower than in some other parts of Europe.

Long hours undermine equal opportunities

The quest for higher productivity and the long hours culture limit the effects of improved rights and progressive management and can undermine equal opportunities policies.

The TUC estimates that if all the unpaid overtime worked by the average employee were put together at the start of the year, it wouldn’t be until mid-February that they would start to be paid. “Work your proper hours day” marks this date.

The workforce is changing

The workforce is changing: more women are working and taking shorter breaks after childbirth; there are more single parents working or seeking work; people are working later in life and are likely to have increased responsibility for the care of elderly dependants as people live longer.

In the 21st Century workers will need to take a “life course” approach to balancing the different aspects of their lives in order to maintain their skills, health and earnings potential.

The Government’s policy is to promote work life balance and in particular to support working families but in this as in other aspects of management, its actions towards its own workforce contradict this aim.

The government does not lead by example

Instead of the Government leading by example and the Civil Service implementing good work life balance policies, the efficiency agenda has led to longer hours, poor job design, intensified workloads, longer travel times and withdrawal of opportunities for flexible working. This affects PCS members in the civil service, in non-departmental public bodies and in private companies.

Even where good policies exist workloads prevent people from taking advantage of them. The 24/7 Survey carried out by Keele University in 2006 found that over half of the PCS members who responded worked above their contracted hours and a third had been unable to take their full holiday allowance.

This is very worrying as the Whitehall ll study of the health of civil servants demonstrated how conflict between work and family demands can lead to both physical and mental health problems. Rather than improving efficiency, this situation increases stress, reduces productivity and creates a greater likelihood of illness and absence.

Your rights

Workers in the UK are protected by a variety of rights limiting working time and providing for leave and financial support in specific circumstances.

Parents and carers benefit from statutory entitlements to request flexible working and in respect of maternity, paternity, parental leave, adoption and time off for dependants.
Particular legal protections also apply to part-time workers, temporary workers and workers with disabilities

The main pieces of legislation are:

• Working Time Regulations
• Work and Families Act
• Employment Act
• Part-time Workers Regulations
• Temporary Workers Regulations
• Disability Discrimination Act

If you think that any of these legal rights are being breached, contact your local PCS rep for further advice.

How employers benefit from good work-life balance arrangements

Although in some places employers use flexibility simply as a device to save money and undermine good conditions of service, there is a lot of evidence that employers can benefit more from work-life balance arrangements that are designed to support workers.

Good policies can improve recruitment, retention, health, morale, motivation, loyalty, give a better return on training investment and increase productivity – all of which reduce costs and result in a more successful organisation.

They are not a luxury add-on, but the core of good management.

Organisations providing services to the public must now promote equality, produce equality schemes and undertake impact assessments on policy, service delivery and employment practices for race, disability and gender.

Work-life balance policies can make a crucial difference to equal opportunities.

In the Civil Service a strategy to achieve equality and diversity applies to all departments and agencies. This includes targets increasing the number of women in the Senior Civil Service and states that “All SCS and feeder grade posts (grade 6 and 7) [are] to be available on a flexible working pattern basis unless robust and objective justification is proved.”

Good policies - bad practice

But often good policies exist on paper but not in practice.

The consequences of job cuts and relocation on work organisation, staffing levels and workloads have stalled any attempt to eradicate the long hours culture that pervades the civil service and private sector organisations.

Managers receive inadequate training and support, have to work with untested procedures and IT systems and are put under pressure to meet targets rather than being encouraged to support and promote work life balance.

In some workplaces private sector models are applied which result in unrealistic workloads, long hours seen as the norm, unachievable targets, little regard for health and safety and no adjustments for disability needs. Even long-accepted conditions of service, such as flexitime agreements, are being undermined.

The Civil Service Diversity Survey in 2001 confirmed that the experience of those working flexibly was that widespread negative assumptions were made by managers and colleagues about their commitment. Workers in that group were more likely to experience inequality in appraisal, promotion, access to training, job allocation and most HR policies.

The PCS view of work-life balance

Work-life balance is at the heart of the PCS Well-being at Work campaign. Unless members can resolve the conflicts between the demands of work, family, home and leisure they will be more prone to illness, less able to devote time to acquiring new skills and unable to perform to their full potential.

• Improve health and cut sickness absence
• stress and family absences taken as sick leave are reduced
• adjustments in working patterns for ill health and disability are encouraged
• staff are able to find time for exercise and relaxation
• Improve skills
• Staff are able to find time for formal and informal learning
• Training opportunities are designed so that all staff can access them
• Improve performance
• Workloads are designed to be accomplished in the time allocated
• Contributions are not judged by the length of time spent at work

What we want employers to do

Apply coherent common standards on hours, leave and family leave based on the levels stated in the PCS Model Pay Claim. These are:

• Conditioned hours of no more than 35 hours per week (net)
• 30 days annual leave for all staff
• 39 weeks maternity leave on full pay
• 15 days paid maternity support leave, with shorter qualifying service and notice periods than those in the statutory regulations
• 39 weeks paid adoption leave, with no qualifying service requirement
• 13 weeks paid parental leave for children up to age 18
• Paid leave to deal with domestic emergencies
• Paid leave for eldercare and other dependants including those with disabilities
• Paid leave for those undergoing fertility treatment
• Disability leave to allow time off for treatment or rehabilitation or arrangement of workplace adjustments
• Support for childcare.

Work with PCS to promote a holistic approach that recognises how balancing work with other aspects of life supports diversity and health. Policies tailored to specific workplaces can be developed which benefit staff, management and service users. These solutions should include:

• Access to flexible working patterns for all staff at all levels without career detriment
• Opportunities for all workers to use their full range of skills regardless of their working pattern
• Better opportunities and incentives for acquiring new skills
• Appraisal systems based on contribution and achievement rather than attendance
• Appropriate support and provision for childcare 
• Adequate staffing levels and achievable targets and workloads 
• Limiting individual choices of working patterns only when there is a real need to do so
• Skilling managers to manage a workforce with diverse working patterns.

Looking after yourself

Achieving good work life balance is easier if you know what options you have, can consider how they could help and have time to put them in place before the crisis hits.

This isn’t always possible, but your local PCS rep can help you plan ahead or help you with procedures in an emergency. Try to prevent the pressure building up by taking the breaks and leave that you are entitled to.

Your employer must comply with the statutory entitlements and will probably offer contractual rights that are better. Make sure you know about:

• Your annual leave entitlement
• Leave entitlements for family and emergency matters
• Learning and study leave
• What working patterns are available at your workplace
• Who is entitled to request flexible working (many employers allow all staff to do this – not just parents and carers)
• What support you can get with your caring responsibilities.

Think about how an alternative working pattern would affect your ability to do your work, your health, your other commitments, your income and your career.

Talk to your PCS rep about your short, medium and long term options. If you aren’t sure about what would be best, see if your manager will allow you to change your working pattern for a trial period.

Your PCS diary lists phone numbers for confidential services that can advise you on stress, health, welfare and other problems.

For more information

Contact your local PCS representative for information about policies in your workplace, your rights and help with applying to work flexibly.

If you are a PCS rep you can get more information from your local branch or from the PCS Reps Helpline, telephone 020 7801 2650 or email info@pcs.org.uk