Unions are key to annual hours deals

Unions are key to negotiations over annualised hours contracts, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

The complexity of these arrangements, which organise working hours on an annual rather than weekly basis, means they require an extensive period of bargaining before they can be implemented.

Data from the Labour Force Survey suggest that only three to four percent of British employees work on annualised hours contracts, but they remain a source of interest as part of the wider discussion over flexible working arrangements.

The research, by professors David Bell and Robert Hart from the University of Stirling, reveals that employees on annual hours are often union members and that their hourly pay rates are around 13% higher than under an equivalent standard contract. They do less than half the paid overtime worked by those on other contracts but, as might be expected, experience more variation in their hours over the working year.

For further details tel: 01793 413032