Subcontracting
Subcontracting enables:
● resources to be concentrated on core business activities;
● employment costs to be reduced;
● flexibility and productivity to be increased;
● job security for core employees to be enhanced.
The potential drawbacks include:
● The legal status of subcontractors. This has to be clarified for income tax, national
insurance and employment legislation purposes.
● The degree to which subcontractors will be able to meet delivery and quality
requirements – it may be more difficult to control their work.
● Negative reactions from employees and trade unions who prefer work to be kept
within the company.
The decision on how much work can be subcontracted is mainly an operational one,
but the flexibility plan should cover the implications of subcontracting on employ-
ment levels and employee relations.
Flexible hour arrangements
Flexible hour arrangements can be included in the flexibility plan in one or more of
the following ways:
● Flexible daily hours. These may follow an agreed pattern day by day according to
typical or expected work loads (eg flexitime systems).
● Flexible weekly hours, providing for longer weekly hours to be worked at certain
peak periods during the year.
● Flexible daily and weekly hours: varying daily or weekly hours or a combination
of both to match the input of hours to achieve the required output. Such working
times, unlike daily or weekly arrangements, may fluctuate between a minimum
and a maximum.
● Compressed working weeks in which employees work fewer than the five stan-
dard days.
● Annual hours: scheduling employee hours on the basis of the number of hours to
be worked, with provisions for the increase or reduction of hours in any given
period, according to the demand for goods or services.
386 ❚ People resourcing