Flexible working: the facts
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 By WorkingMums.co.uk the job portal for working mothers. Flexible working is a particularly hot topic at the moment. The Government has just announced
plans to extend the right to request
flexible working to all parents of children under 18 and more and more
families are requesting to work in ways that allow them to better
balance work and family life.
But what does the term flexible working mean and what are your rights, both as an employer and an employee?
Since 2003, parents of children younger than six or of disabled children and carers of adult partners or relatives living at their address have had the right to request flexible working from their employer.
Eligible employees are able to request:
a change to the hours they work
a change to the times when they are required to work
to work from home.
This flexible approach embraces everything from part-time work, job shares, annualised hours and term time work to working some or all of the time from home. The employer has a duty to consider their requests seriously, although they do not have to accede to the request.
To qualify to request flexible working an employee must have worked for at least 26 continuous weeks with their employer.
Employers can refuse a request on the following grounds: if they can demonstrate an inability to rearrange work among existing staff, if they can show flexible working will incur a financial burden on their company; if it will have a detrimental effect on their ability to meet customer demand and if they can show they will be unable to recruit additional staff and that the request will have a serious impact on the employee’s performance or quality of work.
The benefits
Many companies believe the policy has worked to their benefit, allowing them to retain experienced staff, particularly women, to provide cover outside normal office hours, to respond to changing seasonal needs, to reduce absenteeism and to increase loyalty and motivation among staff.
Women have successfully brought cases claiming discrimination if they are not allowed flexible working on the grounds that, since they are often the primary carer of children, a refusal to grant flexible working is more likely to affect them. Men can also bring cases if a mother in their company has been granted flexible working and they have been refused.
The legislation lays out a formal procedure for applying for flexible working and employees have to argue clearly what the advantages would be to both them and their employer of allowing them to work flexibly, for instance, retaining an experienced member of staff. If an employee is unhappy about the way their company has dealt with their case, they can take their case to an employment tribunal.
Checklist for employers:
- Employers should try to treat each request objectively and to treat all requests in the same way, whether from men or women.
- The law stipulates that they must set up a meeting to discuss the employee’s request for flexible working within 28 days and then reply to the request within 14 days of the meeting.
- If a request is turned down, the employer must reply in writing, giving a clear business case reason for the decision.
- Employers are encouraged to set out a clear flexible working policy to avoid confusion and ensure consistency in the way they handle requests.
- They should show that they are open to looking at flexible work requests in all jobs, no matter how senior.
- It is also a good idea to think more laterally about encouraging flexible working across the board to avoid resentment by other colleagues and to show a consistent approach to employees.
- Human resources staff should ensure that the flexible working policy is clearly publicised and that all managers are aware of how it works.
- It is also advisable to monitor requests for flexible working and to track how they are working in practice.
So far, around 90% of requests for flexible working have been granted either fully or partially. Reports suggest the number of mothers who work flexible hours has more than doubled since 2003 and the number who have changed employers after returning to work has halved.
Once a parent has been formally granted flexible working, this then becomes a permanent change to their contract and if an employer later wants to change that they must have formal discussions with the employee. If they do not, the employer can be found in breach of contract.
Employers are still getting to grips with the practicalities of promoting flexible working. Many, worried about losing experienced workers, are keen to implement it, but remain unclear of how to manage it and what works best. Several organisations are blazing a path and providing examples of good practice, for instance, they provide models for how to manage home workers to ensure they do not feel isolated or sidelined. Some argue that flexible working has other benefits besides the ones listed above – for instance, it can mean greater productivity as workers who are not able to make it into the office when a child is sick or they feel under the weather may be able to work some hours from home. Then there are the benefits of reducing overcrowding at rush hour if fewer people are required to commute on a regular basis.
WorkingMums.co.uk was set up to support and provide opportunities to professional women looking for flexible, part-time office and home-based opportunities and full time jobs with family friendly employers.
To register and receive alerts about flexible and part time jobs in your area or industry,
visit www.WorkingMums.co.uk today.
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