The Right to Request Flexible Working

What is flexible working?

 

Flexibility in the workplace is about developing modern working practices to fit the needs of the business and their employees. Both employers and employees can gain from flexible working opportunities as both parties have the flexibility to organise their working arrangements in a way that suits them.

 

This can enable business to adapt to changing conditions and individual employees to better balance their work and family life. For businesses, flexible working can help retain staff – and holding onto experienced and skilled staff is important in maintaining quality and controlling costs. Offering flexible hours widens the talent pool, so employers should be able to recruit people with more skills; it can also increase commitment and loyalty of staff members. This can in turn translate into improved productivity and by extension improved profitability. For employees, flexible working allows them to better balance their home life with their responsibilities at work. In today’s society, both men and women want to find a balance between work, family and caring responsibilities which are shared more equally than ever before.

What are the different types of flexible working?

Part-time working – Some staff may choose to work a reduced number of hours, for example to balance caring responsibilities they may have outside of work

Flexi-time– Although certain staff members may be required to work onsite at core times for your business, there may be some flexibility in how the overall hours under the contract are worked. 

Job-sharing– A job share arrangement involves employment of two people to share a work load that would normally be completed by one employee.

Working from home – With advances in modern technology , you may be able to  offer home working rather than require employees to attend the office every day.

Annualised hours – This is an agreed  number of hours to be worked annually under a contract of employment but with flexibility about the days and times that these hours are completed. Annualised hours are normally spread across a regular pattern of work during each year.  This does  provide flexibility to adjust the number of hours worked each week, for example when there is extra demand on your business.

 

Who can apply for flexible working?

 

Currently flexible working requests are limited to employees that have parental or caring responsibilities and meet the following criteria:

 

·         Have a child that is 16 or under or a disabled child that is under 18.

 

·         Are caring for an adult that is a partner, relative or lives at the same address as them.

 

·         Have worked for the company for 26 weeks continuously at the time of application.

 

·         Has not made another application for flexible working in the past 12 months.

 

What changes are being introduced in Spring 2014?

The proposed in the Spring 2014 aim to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees. Businesses will need to follow a fair process when considering requests for flexible working, in order to avoid decisions being challenged and potential claims of discrimination being made by the employee.

Do I have to agree to flexible working if I receive a request?

 

At present employers have a statutory duty to consider any application they are presented with as long as the employee meets the criteria mentioned above. A meeting must be arranged within 28 days of the request being received and a decision within 14 days of the meeting to meet the statutory requirements. The new guidelines state that employers will have a duty to consider all requests in a ‘reasonable’ manner and within a ‘reasonable’ time frame. The reality of this means that when you receive a request, you will need to begin a similar procedure to demonstrate that a fair process has been completed and any decision is justified. You will have the discretion  to refuse requests on business grounds. The employee will  have the right to appeal if the request for flexible working is refused.

 

Will flexible working benefit our company?

Flexible working is not suitable for every business; however it is becoming more accessible for many companies with the range of modern technology that is being made available. The use of laptops, mobile phones, emails and web hosting has opened up a lot of opportunities. If managed effectively flexible working can have a positive effect on your team by boosting staff morale, increasing productivity and improving staff retention. It has also been known to reduce levels of sickness absence, which could ultimately save the business money in the long term.

If you require any further information on the upcoming changes to flexible working, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Tamar HR team