Case Study: Flexible Working - The Bank of England

The Bank of England has a wide range of flexible working options and take-up at senior levels has increased significantly in recent years. A small number of women have been promoted to senior roles while working non-standard hours

Flexible working is seen as key to increasing the representation of women in senior roles. The Bank is also committed to developing its staff. In addition to offering a comprehensive training programme, a central career development team offers all staff, women and men, regular opportunities to discuss their career prospects with a dedicated career adviser. This can include discussions about working arrangements and their implications for career progression. Career Advisers also keep in contact with women on maternity leave and career breaks. The Bank is keen to ensure that more information is available about the range of options and that success stories are shared, to challenge common assumptions that the only way to the top is via ever-increasing hours and decreasing flexibility. The Bank is also planning to provide greater support for line managers to help them with the challenges of managing flexible teams.

The Flexible Working project is ongoing and a full report was prepared during the summer 2007 for internal purposes only.  Results so far indicate that expanding flexible working options has had a positive or a neutral effect on teams’ productivity and morale. But the pilots have also highlighted the importance of the team approach and of strong senior management support.

The Bank has also completed a research on career development for women, which involved interviewing over 50 women from analyst level upwards about their views on career progression in the Bank. Following this review, a network for women has been created. This is aimed at providing an informal platform for women and men in the Bank to discuss issues and exchange ideas related to career progression and flexible working. Some of these areas will be of particular interest to women with children, eg, how to build a career around maternity and other breaks Others will appeal to a broader range of staff, both women and men, eg, how to go about planning a career or how to network effectively.