Just under a third (30%) of women working in schools, hospitals, care homes, town halls, police stations and other public services have had requests to work flexibly denied, according to research by trade union Unison.
Its survey of 44,065 women working in the public sector also found that 25% of those who were told they could not alter the way they worked had their requests denied multiple times.
Almost half (47%) of respondents had requested flexibility in their jobs so they could achieve a better work-life balance, while 37% had done so to look after their mental health, 36% to fit around their childcare needs and 29% for physical health reasons.
More than two fifths (42%) were told by employers that flexible working would affect the quality of their provided service, and 28% heard there would not be enough employees to cover their duties. One-fifth (20%) were denied because they were told it would prompt staff to ask for similar working patterns and 15% were given no reason at all.
From April 2024, the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Act 2023) will come into effect and gives employees a statutory right to request flexible working from their first day at work instead of waiting six months. However, a quarter (25%) of respondents said the new law does not go far enough and 58% think there should an automatic right to flexible working.
Christina McAnea, general secretary at Unison, said: “It’s disheartening to see many employers continuing to deny their staff the opportunity to work flexibly. Sadly, many women who find they need to inject some flexibility into their working lives are coming up against employers with inconsistent, rigid and unimaginative attitudes.
“While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, some form of flexible working is achievable in most workplaces. Helping women to balance work with caring commitments not only improves morale, but can also help employers fill hard to recruit jobs. Too many employers are still turning down flexible working requests, which means the right to request is pretty meaningless for many women.”