UK risks regulating these jobs out of existence, business group warns
Key Points
- 67% of part-time workers took their role for flexibility, rising to 80% among those with children under 18, according to YouGov polling commissioned by the BRC.
- The BRC warns that poorly designed Guaranteed Hours reforms under the Employment Rights Act could reduce flexible and part-time work.
- The Government consultation will define low-hours contracts, how working hours are measured, and how shifts can be changed.
- Retail is the UK's largest private sector employer, supporting nearly three million jobs, with 57.8% of roles part-time.
- The reforms follow the Milburn Review, which found more than one million people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training.
Two-thirds of part-time workers chose their roles for the flexibility they offer, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) says, as it warns the Government against regulating flexible jobs out of existence.
YouGov polling commissioned by the BRC found that 67% of part-time workers took their role because they needed flexibility around commitments such as study, childcare, caring responsibilities or other aspects of everyday life.
Among part-time workers with children under 18, that figure rose to 80%. The trade body argues that poorly designed Guaranteed Hours reforms could put those opportunities at risk.
The findings land as the Government launches its consultation on Guaranteed Hours proposals under the Employment Rights Act, reforms that will shape how flexible and part-time work is offered across the economy.
The consultation covers questions such as how low-hours contracts are defined, how working hours are measured over time, and how shifts can be changed.
The BRC said those choices will determine whether retailers keep offering flexible hours that suit both businesses and workers, or whether they are forced to lock in hours that are only needed at peak times.
The BRC frames flexible work as the thing that makes employment possible for millions of people in the first place. It allows students to earn while studying, parents to work around childcare, carers to balance responsibilities and older workers to stay in employment.
Why retail relies on flexible hours
Retail provides a large share of those opportunities. The BRC points out that, as the UK’s largest private sector employer supporting nearly three million jobs, more than half of all retail roles are part-time at 57.8%, well above the average across the wider economy.
But retail jobs follow customer demand, which swings from week to week and season to season. Businesses often add hours during busy periods such as Christmas or sales, then cut back when demand falls.
The BRC warns that proposals risking turning temporary peaks into permanent contractual commitments could make it harder for employers to offer those extra hours at all, reducing the chances for workers to earn more when they want or need to.
The Guaranteed Hours consultation comes shortly after the Milburn Review highlighted the scale of the challenge facing youth employment, with more than one million young people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “It’s vital that we don’t regulate flexible jobs out of existence. Flexible and part-time work is how millions of people make employment work for them, balancing shifts alongside study, childcare or caring responsibilities, and retail plays a vital role in providing those opportunities.
“For many workers, that flexibility isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s what makes employment possible and allows them to take on extra hours when it suits them. Retailers need to offer those additional hours when demand is there, but they cannot guarantee them all year round.
“If reforms mean temporary peaks become permanent commitments for responsible businesses, they will offer fewer hours in the first place, reducing both opportunity and the flexibility that workers value and rely on.”
