Women Like Us, the London recruitment company specialising in part time jobs has launched a pilot helpdesk that will offer 30 minutes of free and impartial over-the-phone advice to employers in the capital who need guidance on the design of part time and flexible jobs.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has supported Women Like Us in the development of the helpdesk.

The helpdesk will answer questions such as:

• Does my business need a part time or flexible role?
• How  would it work in practice?
• How do I create the job description?
• What should I pay and how do I work out holiday entitlement?
• How do I integrate this role with other members or staff?
• How do I manage flexible employees?

Employers who call the helpdesk will also be sent free e-packs including a toolkit on how to design flexible and part time roles successfully.

Karen Mattison, founder of Women Like Us, said: "Part time recruitment is a great way for forward-thinking employers to keep growing through tough economic times - and beyond. We are launching this helpdesk with the support of the CIPD because we know lots of employers think about hiring part time staff but get 'stuck' at the starter stages of job design, on questions such as 'what do you do about bank holiday?'."

Mike Emmott, employment relations adviser at the CIPD added: "The CIPD is pleased to support this initiative as it will undoubtedly provide many employers with the kind of information and know-how they need in order to offer truly flexible and part-time vacancies. Many employers accept the business case for flexible working, in terms of increased engagement and commitment from employees, but are not confident about dealing with issues of job design. The toolkit will help to address this gap."

The Flexible Job Design Helpdesk number is 0800 781 1604 and is free for employers with offices based in London, Thames Valley, Surrey, Kent, Hertfordshire and Essex.