Employers whose staff rostering arrangements include flexible working provisions could be encouraged by recent comments from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
The recruitment industry body urged the government and labour market authorities to turn their focus away from “picking holes in flexible working” and towards the UK’s skills shortage.
Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, was commenting as the organisation published its latest Report on Jobs with KPMG.
The research highlights positive trends for the labour market, with temporary and contract staff appointments in August rising at the fastest pace since July 1998.
Demand for short-term workers increased at the quickest rate since December 2000.
Permanent staff placements also continued to rise strongly last month, although growth was down slightly from the 40-month high recorded in July.
Mr Green said August 2013 was an “extraordinary” month for the UK jobs market, with significant trends including ongoing pay inflation for temporary and permanent staff.
With vacancy growth at a six-year high, the REC expects a noticeable improvement in official employment figures over the coming months.
“The major issue now is the worrying lack of candidates to fill the jobs being advertised. In August, the number of vacancies increased at the sharpest rate in over six years but the availability of staff keeps declining,” said Mr Green.
“This month’s figures should be celebrated and efforts should be focused on addressing the skills gap rather than picking holes in flexible working.”
A similar sentiment was recently expressed by PCG, the membership association for independent professionals, whose chief executive officer, Chris Bryce, urged the government to “tread carefully” when setting policies and regulations for flexible workers.
Mr Bryce pointed out that legislation designed to prevent the exploitation of staff on zero-hours contracts could inadvertently disadvantage legitimate freelancers, contractors and independent workers.
