A response by One Parent Families to the Equal Opportunities Commission's investigation into flexible and part time working

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May 2005 One Parent Families welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Equal Opportunity Commission’s investigation into flexible and part-time work. One Parent Families is the national organization representing the needs of lone parents and their children, and campaigns to build a fairer society for all families, in which lone parents and their children are not disadvantaged and do not suffer from poverty, isolation, or social exclusion.

There are 1.8 million lone parents in Britain today, nine out of ten of whom are women. The Government has set a target to have 70 per cent of lone parents in work by 2010. There has been a ten percentage point rise in the employment rate of lone parents since 1997, but achieving this ambitious target, and the more fundamental target of halving child poverty by 2010 will require both that work becomes more flexible, and that the rewards to part time work are increased.

Fifty five per cent of lone parents are in work today.[i] Twenty-six per cent per cent of those work part time – with 28 per cent of lone mothers and 10 per cent of lone fathers taking up part time work. Part time work or other methods of flexible working remain the preferred option for many lone parents, but many feel unable to access this type of work. Lone parents on low incomes find that the financial gains to part time work are often insufficient to make work pay, and many lone parents in all positions find that flexible working is not an option within their place of work. This often leaves lone parents left with a tough choice between life on benefits or making the move straight into inflexible full time work.

We have responded to those questions in the consultation where we feel we can usefully comment, and the numbering here refers to that in the consultation document.

Read about the original consultation at www.eoc.org.uk/cseng/policyandcampaigns/flexibleworkingindex.asp

1. DWP (2005) DWP Five year strategy: Opportunity and Security throughout life DWP

EOC Investigation into part time work (PDF, 49 KB)

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