Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of staff in his Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.
Within the MOD, there are three types of flexible working arrangements: Informal, and Formal Flexible Working, and the Flexible Working Hours (FWH) Scheme. The number of staff with Informal Flexible Working arrangements and on the FWH scheme is not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
As at 31 August 2025, 69.7% of staff work full time, and 30.3% of staff have flexible or part time working arrangements as detailed in the table below. Please note this data is for the Core Workforce only and includes MOD Main, Defence Equipment and Support and the Submarine Delivery Agency.
Work Schedule Grouping | Total | Percent |
Full Time | 34,536 | 69.7 |
Part Time | 5,116 | 10.3 |
Compressed | 4,467 | 9.0 |
Shift Work | 5,236 | 10.6 |
Term Time | 187 | 0.4 |
Grand Total | 49,542 | 100.0 |