Will contracting and flexible working become the UK norm?

The recent data from the Office for National Statistics highlighted the fact that more people are turning to self-employment and flexible working patterns in order to survive the current economic turmoil. Whilst this trend is probably driven by necessity, the shift away from mainstream 9 to 5 site based working could be a lasting legacy of the recession.

In the autumn of last year, the number of self-employed individuals in the UK reached 4.14 million. Not only is this a record high, but it also shows an increase of 8% since the spring of 2008. Furthermore the Report on Shops from the REC and KPMG shows demand for contract and temporary staff is more robust than the market for full-time permanent employees.

Gillian Econopouly, the head of policy at the REC, said the unemployment statistics reinforce the trends discovered by the Confederation and the PCG. The economic downturn has encouraged more people to adopt flexible working and freelancing and this could be a lasting change to the UK's employment landscape.

There will be implications for workers, employers and government policy and one of the major challenges facing the REC is to provide a support network for contractors and freelancers.

The REC has now set up the Flexible Work Commission to take stock of the current working patterns and what impact they will have on the future of recruitment.

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