Government
The business case for government supporting this new channel in the
labour market has been scoped by Oxford Economic Forecasting. Their
report "Slivers-of-Time: making the labour market work better"
concludes:
- these new markets could save the taxpayer £400m a year with just a 5% take up among identified target groups
- government has a key role as catalyst in helping the markets get going
This section quantifies some of the ways marketplaces for Slivers-of-Time might support key policy agendas. It also outlines how central government can foster the spread of these markets around the country and some of the policy barriers they currently face.
What can Slivers-of-Time markets do for policymakers?
1) A new tool for tackling worklessness
Not everyone who is unemployed is ready to move immediately into a traditional post. "You start your new job next Monday" can be a terrifying edict for someone who's been out of the workforce for months. Slivers-of-Time Working is less daunting, it can create a personalised ramp into the labour market. "Want to try selling an hour this afternoon, then come in and chat about maybe a few more hours next week?" can be a much more enticing message for someone whose job seeking is not producing results.
2) More precise public services
Having different types of workers available very cost effectively, and effortlessly booked hour-by-hour, would allow staffing resource to be matched exactly with need across the public sector every day.
Local elections looming with demanding targets set for the time in which councils must respond to requests for forms? No problem if Electoral Services departments can book extra workers to do an hour every morning at 8.00 to clear the day's post bag.- Sudden peak in admissions in the hospital? It would be a great help if managers could book inducted ward orderlies to carry out routine tasks for the evening.
- Leaves started falling last night? The Public Realm department need 25 extra street sweepers this morning if everything is to be clear by lunchtime.
3) A new model for skills
Slivers-of-Time workers get an express grounding in the qualities employers value most:
- personal responsibility
- flexible approach
- ability to use a computer of some sort.
These markets make it highly economical for companies to train extensive pools of local people who then become a fluid resource to cover peaks and troughs of demand.
4) Benefits efficiencies
Could there come a day when claimants are routinely offered the chance to sell their Slivers-of-Time around interviews and job-hunting? Doing that would:
- expose them to a variety of employers so they can decide what works for them and maybe move towards a job offer from one of their buyers
- allow them to build an ongoing relationship with employers, assessment is not dependant on an interview
- make it difficult to do illegal cash-in-hand work. At the end of each week the marketplace could calculate the benefits due based on work done and then transfer funds.
