News and New Products

Tech Competitive U.K. Needs Flexible Hours

By Harry Yeates -- Electronics Weekly, 9/22/2004

U.K. technology businesses must be able to set their own working hours and vary staffing levels if they are to compete with the rest of the world, according to the head of a U.K. research center.

Paul Stein, the managing director of Siemens-owned Roke Manor Research said any legislation that might restrict current flexibility and mobility of the U.K.'s workforce could harm the country's productivity.

"I was in a meeting with a Chinese company in the same line of business as us, and some of these guys actually sleep where they work," Stein told Electronics Weekly. "That's the competition for us in the U.K."

Roke Manor undertakes high-level R&D in communications and sensors, among other areas.

"The U.K. needs workforce mobility, the ability to take on people quickly and if necessary downsize quickly. It's very important that we view our position relative to the rest of world, and not in terms of aligning ourselves with Europe," he continued. "Parts of Europe, particularly France, are already struggling in this regard because of the inflexibility of the hours they can put in."

This week Brussels is expected to release proposals that would limit the terms of the U.K.'s opt out from the EU-wide Working Time Directive, introduced in 1993. For example, any waiving of the 48-hour maximum working week would require discussion with unions.

A DTI spokesperson told Electronics Weekly: "We are determined to fight to get a compromise that works for the British labor market. We don't believe that a one size fits all approach is the best thing for us, we believe that we should be allowed to retain the opt out, because it suits what is a very flexible workforce."

However, Stein said there are other steps the U.K. can take to ensure it continues to be productive.

For example, making use of regions with low labor costs for non-core operations, and ensuring an educational environment that fosters innovative thinking and entrepreneurialism.

"We need to do a lot more of building on our success and coming up with fundamental ideas, because that's another way of protecting our workforce," he said.

Electronics Weekly is the London-based sister publication of Electronic News.