The “Bits of Work” revolution.

Auction sites are where you sell spare items. Get ready for online marketplaces where anyone can sell spare hours, on their own terms, to multiple employers.

A new form of employment

You have 2 hours spare this evening? Do you want to work for a vetted local employer? You’re a company needing extra people for just 90 minutes in an hour’s time? Why not buy the time of individuals who want to work that way? This kind of marketplace is now being established in local economies across the UK.

Sellers are work-seekers who need to find employment around other commitments.
Buyers are organisations needing top-up workers at irregular times.

Sellers of
Slivers-of-Time

Buyers of
Slivers-of-Time

Parents

Students

Newly retired

Carers

Partially employed

Medically restricted

Business starters

Job-seekers

Experience seekers

Work returners

Local authorities

Caterers

Retailers

Manufacturers

Leisure industry

Hospitality providers

Promotions companies

Logistics providers

Service companies

Care providers

A new kind of website is making this way of working simple,safe and enticing. Sites are operated by recruitment agencies and job-brokerages with full protection for all concerned. The behind-the-scenes technology required is only now viable. Britain leads the world in its development.

The UK wants Slivers-of-Time Working

Government commissioned research shows 13.7m people in Britain needing to work this way at some point each year. 68% of them want to try it immediately with 74% of those preferring it to a conventional part-time or temporary job even if such an option was available.

Who needs a marketplace for Slivers-of-Time?

Recent press coverage:

European e-Govt. Best Practice
Radio 4: You and Yours
Yorkshire Evening Post

more press

Regional activity:

Leeds
Liverpool
Hull

more regions

Case studies from the pilot:

Overview
Buyers
Sellers

Newsletter

This month's "Go Slivers!"

System Updates

click for enlargement

Good for communities

This new facility spreads work around. There are clear benefits for communities:

Anyone can start to do little blocks of work progressively building a track record.

Employers can train pools of reliable Slivers-of-Time sellers so they have ready-inducted workers constantly on tap. That gives local businesses a tool for dealing with sudden peaks.
The local economy grows a pool of incentivised individuals working ultra-flexibly on their own terms. That’s great for incoming employers.

Increased access to work is the answer to many social problems. Selling Slivers-of-Time is not for everyone. But it can be an attractive route for those who want to interact with the labour market in their own step-by-step way.

Piloted in East London, spreading through the UK

The world’s first true Slivers-of-Time marketplace was launched in East London in 2005 funded by the Office of Deputy Prime Minister (now the DCLG). Going forward with funding from UnLtd and the private sector, markets are now being launched by Local Authorities, NDC’s (New Deal for Communities projects), Social Enterprises and other bodies across the UK.

Apart from Central Government, Slivers-of-Time Working has been promoted by IDE&A, SIGOMA, SOLACE and the TUC.

I like this. What do I do now?

Is your organisation able to act as catalyst for a launch in your area? You will need to identify about £100,000 worth of local work that can be committed to the market in its first year.

Do you want to help yourself, or others, be part of a local market as soon it takes off in your area? If so please register your details at www.sliversoftime.com

This site provides full details of how to get a Slivers-of-Time marketplace of the ground in your area and the background to this exciting new opportunity for so many people.

How do we launch a market in our area?

I want to know more about Slivers-of-Time Working