Flexible working should not be forced on employers, according to Martin Thomas head of recruitment at BT.

Thomas told Recruiter: “If we were forced to offer flexible working each time it would create significant costs in adapting our systems, processes and we would lobby for changes to the approach.”

Following on from HR manager at Domestic & General, Nottingham, Tracy Burrell’s comments on a report in The Independent on Sunday, claiming that employers offering full-time vacancies at a jobcentre will soon to be requested to offer part-time, as a job-share or another variant of flexible working, Thomas acknowledges that flexible working can help widen the talent pool.

“We gain access to skilled individuals who may not be able to work full-time as well as the advantages of providing a flexible working environment to productivity and job satisfaction. It may also help us provide round-the clock services to our customer base.”