The part-time signal in the figures
On 11 July 2023, ONS reported an employment rate of 76.0% for March to May 2023. It attributed the quarterly increase in employment mainly to part-time employees. The bulletin also showed falling vacancies, demonstrating that the composition of employment can change even when employers’ overall demand for additional staff is cooling.
The proportion and arrangement of working time matter directly to a search. A qualified person may be interested in a role but unavailable for its advertised schedule. Our practical interpretation is to qualify working patterns at the briefing stage, rather than discovering after several interviews that the client and candidate mean different things by flexibility.
Separate coverage from habit
Ask which hours provide service coverage, whether handovers are possible and which days require attendance. In healthcare, a shift pattern may reflect patient-facing requirements; in professional services, a full-time label may conceal tasks that could be organised differently. Recruiters need an authorised answer, not a vague assurance that the employer is usually accommodating.
Advertisements and first conversations should state contracted hours, location expectations and any agreed scope for variation. Keep availability records current and avoid treating a request for fewer hours as evidence of lower commitment. Where a proposed arrangement needs approval, make the decision point explicit before scheduling multiple interviews or discussing a start date.
Describe flexibility before approaching candidates
Key Med can support candidate sourcing, engagement and interview coordination using working-pattern criteria agreed with the client. Coordinators can collect relevant availability, compare it with the approved brief and highlight exceptions. For temporary recruitment, bookings support can help maintain an accurate record of agreed shifts and handover requirements within the authorised operating process.
A useful pilot compares a small number of roles with different scheduling constraints. Review where suitable applicants leave the process and whether the advertised conditions matched the actual discussion. Employers retain decisions about job design and cover. The purpose of support is to make those decisions informed and visible, not to promise that flexibility suits every role.
The source material
- Labour market overview, UK: July 2023 ↗Office for National Statistics · 2023-07-11
Contains Office for National Statistics information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Retrospective briefing · Published 4 November 2026. Historical figures and measures describe their period; consult current official guidance before acting. This article provides operational context. Legal, immigration, clinical and financial decisions need the responsible organisation’s qualified advisers.
