Exploring Perspectives on Labour Market Participation - employer engagement sessions

MS Teams Session
Thursday 14 December 2023 9.30 – 11.00

We recognise the importance of working with businesses to shape our future policies and services. We would like to invite your business to an engagement session on two topics - Flexible Working and Health & Work Services. 

We would be grateful if you could confirm if you would like to join this meeting, or perhaps suggest a more appropriate person to attend. To help with this we have included some brief context below, however in advance of the meeting we will also send out a paper covering these in more detail.

Flexible Working

Our aim is to gain insight into how government can optimally assist employers in adopting flexible work practices which are suitable and beneficial for their business. We know that flexible working stands out as a necessity for individuals aiming to join or sustain their presence in the labour market. However, a stark misalignment persists, with only 30% of job vacancies featuring flexible working at the point of hire, while a significant 80% of individuals express their desire for more flexible working.

Health and Work Services 

The most substantial portion of people who are outside the labour market and not looking for a job is represented by individuals with long-term health conditions (32% APS 2022). The aging demographic in Scotland means the likelihood of working-age population encountering one or more health challenges as they get older will only increase. Noteworthy is the number of people who have a disability and are economically inactive have indicated that they want to work. With these points in focus, our interest lies in understanding the existing tools used by employers for supporting, as well as understanding what support could empower them to facilitate employees' entry into or sustained well-being within the workforce, when managing health conditions and/or disabilities.