Britain's hidden brain drain

British employers are failing to make the most of their part-time workers, with 5.6 million part-time workers – 4 out of 5 of the UK's total – stuck in jobs where they do not use their full potential, new research has suggested.

The year-long investigation by the Equal Opportunities Commission found more than three and a half million part-time workers had higher qualifications or skills or had supervision/management roles in previous jobs, and a further two million believed they could "easily work at a higher level".

The report, Britain's Hidden Brain Drain, highlighted the damage caused by old-fashioned thinking about work.

Men ended up mostly working work full-time, and among the longest hours in the European Union, and women, more than two-fifths of whom worked part-time, ended up in low paid jobs with no prospects, said the EOC.

Women part-time workers were earning 40 per cent less per hour than men working full time – about the same pay gap as 30 years ago – and employers were failing to make best use of their considerable skills and experience.At the same time, employers and employees faced an epidemic of work-related stress as work intensified and Britain burnt out. The UK's Department of Trade and Industry estimated that stress at work now costs the UK £3.7 billion a year, said the EOC.

Link to report