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TUC warns of two-tier workforce as country emerges from pandemic

BRITAIN’S workers are facing a two-tier future, dividing those who can work from home and those with no workplace flexibility at all, the TUC warns today.

The trade union body is challenging ministers to stick by their manifesto pledge to ensure flexibility for all workers, as research reveals a growing contrast between the conditions of blue and white-collar workers.

Emphasising that working from home is not the only form of flexibility, the TUC’s polling reveals that workers unable to do so are also more likely to have requests for flexible hours refused.

It also shows that those working from home are more likely to be in higher-paid jobs.

Some 91 per cent of those who have been working from home during the pandemic wish to continue doing so at least some of the time, while those unable to do so express a strong desire for more control over their working hours, the poll reveals.

More than four out of five of workers —  82 per cent — want flexibility in their hours, yet one in six employers said they would not be offering flexible-working opportunities after the pandemic to staff who were unable to work from home.

The TUC argues that every job should be advertised with options for flexible working, with an outright ban on zero-hours contracts and the right to refuse to work outside contracted hours.

General secretary Frances O’Grady said: “As the UK gets back to normal, lots of workers will want to keep the flexibility of working from home.

“But no-one, whether they can work from home or not, should miss out on flexible working options that help them do their job and manage their other responsibilities too.

“This emerging class divide in access to flexible working is no way to thank those workers who carried on doing their job in workplaces throughout the pandemic.

“Ministers should seize the moment and make Britain a world leader in flexible working rights.”

Joe Fitzsimons, senior policy adviser at the Institute of Directors, said: “Our research suggests that 63 per cent of businesses intend to shift towards between one and four days of remote working per week.”

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner called for “a strengthening of workers’ rights on flexible working so that workers are not pressured or blackmailed back into unsafe workplaces.”

A BEIS spokesperson said: “We are wholeheartedly committed to protecting and enhancing workers’ rights and have already pledged to consult on making flexible working the default unless employers have good reason not to.

"Flexible working is about ​much more than working from home, and is crucial to opening up employment opportunities to people regardless of their gender, age, disability or location.”

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