Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2016 to Question 41738, what steps his Department is taking to encourage part-time clinical staff to move into full-time roles.

When making decisions on flexible working including part time working, National Health Service employers need to take a long term whole career view. An increase in participation is best achieved by the offer of flexible working in an environment that encourages staff to increase their hours when it fits with their personal circumstances.

Flexible working practices, including part-time working, have been adopted with widespread success across most professions in the NHS and are backed up by employment legislation including: the Employment Relations Act (Amendment 2005), the Employment Act (Amendment 2005); the Employment Act 2002: Flexible working, and the Work and Families Act 2006.

The Department continues to support NHS Employers in their work on encouraging flexible working through tools, resources and the sharing of good practice available on their website:

http://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/retain-and-improve/managing-your-workforce/flexible-working