Flexible working hours: what's available?

Working from home some or all of the time is an ideal flexible option for some people - according to BT figures 2 million people currently work in this way. Working from home cuts out some or all of the commute to work. The national average of time spent travelling to and from work currently stands at an astonishing 7.5 weeks a year. But if you work from home you have to be sure that you do not end up actually working more hours than you would in the workplace. A relatively recent variation on home-working is teleworking. You work from home and are dependent on a phone and a computer to do your job. This is a new and rapidly expanding method of working, with as many as a quarter of a million home-based teleworkers in 1998.

Find out more about flexible working.

Further information

• New Ways to Work, 309 Upper Street, London N1 2TY (020 79 30 33 55) offers information on a range of flexible working patterns to individuals, unions and employers
• Flexibility the Home Office Partnership
• The TUC
• European Teleworking Online
• Parents at Work, 45 Beech Street, London EC2Y 8AD (020 76 28 35 65; fax: 76 28 35 91) offers advice, leaflets and guides, including: The Employees' Guide to Flexible Working (practical advice on preparing a flexible working proposal and how to approach your manager) £3.99 - £3.50 to members - inc p&p