FLEXIBLE WORKING – Keeping Current With The Times

Posted by Emma Finnegan

Tue, Jul 1, 2014 @ 11.57 AM 

We’re becoming increasingly busy with many of us having more than one job, longing for more hours in the day. The key to achieving this balance is Flexible Working.

How? I hear you ask. Many parents have opted to balance family commitments by working part-time or working compressed hours meaning they work the same amount of time, whilst also keeping a weekday or two free, to spend with their family and to keep on top of household chores!

However this is not the only form of Flexible Working available with common kinds including: change to start/finish times, job sharing, flexitime, working from home. This blogs looks at the positive aspects that all of us face balancing work and life commitments.

From 30th June 2014, the right to request flexible working is being extended to all employees and no longer limited to employees with children under the age of 17 or for those who have caring responsibilities for an adult dependent. The statutory obligations will replace the right to request flexible working procedure with a duty on employers to deal with requests in a "reasonable" manner, and within a "reasonable" period of time.

What does reasonable manner and reasonable timeframe mean?

Employers can choose their own time limits as long as the process is completed within three months.

Under the old rules, strict time limits applied for the employer to hold a meeting with the employee to discuss his or her flexible working request within 28 days of receiving application. In addition, the old bureaucracy gave employees the right to be accompanied to meetings with their employer, be notified of the decision within 14 days of the meeting and then have the right to appeal the outcome!

Of course employers may wish to keep these time limits in place, since the old time limits comply with the new laws too, and allow contingency should there be a dispute during the process. Equally, an employer may still want to follow the process allowing for an employee to be accompanied and the right to appeal, going some way in demonstrating that the request is dealt with in a reasonable manner. But the overriding point is that you don’t have to if it doesn’t work for you!

Be positive about this change…..

Flexible working can address the pressures of running a business, help provide that exceptional service to your clients outside of the conventional 9am – 5pm working hours, assist you in planning resources during seasonal peaks and enable you to become an employer of choice!

Research has shown that employees who work flexibly often have a greater sense of responsibility, ownership and control of their working life, and hence engagement in their work! By agreeing to working patterns that suit both parties, employers are then able to hire and retain experienced employees they need, allowing them to develop their business and increase productivity. In turn, this is likely to help reduce absenteeism and increase employee commitment and loyalty. So a win-win for everyone!

Change?

The rules surrounding Flexible Working are not all changing. So what’s staying the same?

●  The employee must still have 26 weeks’ continuous service with
     the employer to be eligible to make a request.

●  Requests must still be in writing and include certain specified
     information.

●  Employees can still make only one request in every 12-month
     period.

●  The refusal of requests for flexible working must still be for one
     or more of a number of specified business reasons.

●  The time limit for coming to a decision on whether or not to agree
     to a flexible working request can still be extended, typically to
     allow for a trial period of the new arrangement.

●  Acceptance of flexible working request constitutes change to
     terms and conditions of employment and there is no automatic
     right to revert to original agreement.

How do you balance competing requests?

Flexible working requests should be treated in a fair and consistent manner to mitigate any potential tribunal claims on the grounds of discrimination. Below are some practical steps to be considered / adopted to balance the competing requests whilst still meeting your business needs:

1.   Operate a first-come, first-served system and all decisions will be
      made based on the circumstances pertaining at the time.

2.   Agree a review date on any changes made, with a stipulation that
      arrangements will revert to the original terms if there are issues
      on either side and or to allow others to work flexibly at periods
      of particular need.

3.   Consideration of reserving some flexible working capacity for
      employees who are confronted by unexpected occurrences such
      as serious illness of family members.

Get ahead of the game!

●   Don’t throw out your old flexible working policy just yet! This
      still applies to on-going requests and those submitted prior to
      30th June 2014.

●   Agree what system will be adopted when considering requests.

●   Create the new policy and communicate to employees.

●   Inform / train managers of the new policy on requests for flexible
      working.

●   Generate a new flexible working request form to ensure a
      consistent approach.

●   Decide on time limits for dealing with flexible working requests.

●   Continue to offer employees the right to be accompanied at
      flexible working meetings if you can.

●   Continue to offer employees an appeal stage if you can.

●   Have evidence to support your decisions and have a written
      record of everything.

One final thing to remember….

It is important to remember that the Flexible Working legislation does not currently, nor will it, create a right to flexible working; rather it is a right to have the request considered. Therefore an employer can refuse a request for one or more of eight permitted reasons below:

1.   A burden of additional costs.

2.   A detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand.

3.   An inability to reorganize work among existing staff.

4.   An inability to recruit additional staff.

5.   A detrimental impact on performance.

6.   Insufficient work during the hours the employee proposes to
      work.

7.   Detrimental impact on quality.

8.   Planned structural changes.

We are here to help you!

What with our new ways of working and taking the brave step in closing down our office in the West End of London and moving into our office club with the team primarily working from home and on client sites, we’ve experienced first-hand the changes of how a business may be affected whilst still retaining the high level of customer service. We really are in a position to help you undertake a similar level of change in your organization.

Should you require any guidance or support around managing flexible working requests, please do not hesitate contact us on 020 3743 9525. We have a dedicated team of HR Advisors, Managers and Consultants who have a vast amount of practical business experience in dealing with flexible working requests, adopting best practice, policy writing and development, how to implement trial periods as well as supporting you in refusing requests.

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