Flexible Working Council title for Croydon

The Timewise Foundation has awarded Croydon Council the accredited ‘Flexible Working Council’ title for its ongoing commitment to increase opportunities for staff to work flexibly.

Timewise promotes the goal of opening up more flexible and part time job opportunities to allow the huge numbers of people who can’t work full time to access the jobs market.

Croydon Council’s action plan to increase opportunities for flexible working and to encourage other employers in the borough to encourage them to follow suit was highlighted as a key reason for the award.

Croydon’s flexible working initiatives include promoting the greater use of laptops and tablets with video-conferencing capability and full remote access to office files and systems, proving cost effective with reduced office expenses.

The council is also taking steps to lead the way with local employers, setting out the aspiration for them to open up more jobs flexibly and part time.

Councillor Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, young people and learning, said: “Getting this accreditation from Timewise underlines our commitment and sends out a clear message to our contractors and other employers in the borough. We will continue to improve our own flexible working offer and we want as many firms as possible to adopt these new ways of thinking about when and where people work. It’s better for staff, it’s better for our customers, and so it’s also a lot better for us as organisations.”

Councillor Mark Watson, cabinet member for jobs and the economy, added: “The council is actively striving for a culture where we have a collaborative, inclusive and creative environment which allows talent to flourish.

“The driving force for this is our Community Strategy; and we are committed to increasing rates of employment of disabled people, young people, over 50s, lone parents and those others furthest away from the labour market.

“We have also recently launched our Good Employers’ Charter, and a commitment to flexible working sits alongside our other objectives. We want employers to sign up to paying the London living wage, make a commitment to training and employing local people, strive to reflect the diversity of the local community in their workforce, and, where possible, source their products and raw materials from local suppliers.”