A NEW age of flexible working has often been predicted, but it still looks further away than ever. Most employees still go to work around 9 and finish around 5 even though the internet has long made it possible for more people to work at home. Could there be a different way of doing things?

The Glasgow company Pursuit Marketing certainly thinks so. Last year it introduced a four-day week for staff and saw its productivity rise. Now it has become the first private sector business in the UK to offer term-time-only jobs.

The move is designed to tackle an obvious problem: parents who struggle to combine work with school times. Pursuit Marketing’s answer is to offer 10 jobs structured so staff can work when their children are at school and be off when they aren’t.

The company deserves praise for their progressive thinking, and the hope is it will be an example to others. However, not all companies will be able to do what Pursuit Marketing has done and flexible working is unlikely to become ubiquitous until good quality, affordable childcare is much more freely available.

We should also avoid thinking that zero-hour contracts represent flexible working – they are just a way for some employers to keep their costs low. True flexible working is different – it is good for the employees but it can be good for companies too.