"Many employers know that it makes good business sense to provide flexible working opportunities for their staff. These employers know flexible working arrangements enable them to retain skilled staff and reduce recruitment costs, to raise staff morale and to decrease absenteeism, and to react to changing market conditions more effectively."
DTI Flexible Working Guide
Flexible Working can cover working different times/ hours or working from a different location. For Example:
- Flexi-time
- Compressed Working Hours
- Job Sharing
- Shift Work
- Working from Home
- Career Breaks
- Annual Hours
Background
Why has this come about? The UK workforce has become more diverse…. reflecting changes in society: an increase in women at work, single parents, our ageing population etc. Domestic & family responsibilities have also shifted over the years and in response legislation has evolved & changed to offer both men and women the opportunity to request flexible working.
Legislative Requirements
The need to provide parents with more flexible working patterns was identified following the issue of the Government’s Green Paper – “Work and Parents: Competitiveness and Choice”. The Government subsequently set up the Work and Parents Taskforce to consider the issue of working parents and flexible working. They submitted their final report – “About Time: Flexible Working” at the end of 2001 and this has formed the basis of the Act which covers eligibility & procedural requirements.
Why should we as the employer consider Flexible Working seriously?
Cost Savings due to reduced absenteeism
Those skilled employees who take on parental responsibilities may find it difficult to juggle full-time office based work with childcare issues and therefore offering flexibility helps to retain those may have otherwise left your organisation to seek more flexible work elsewhere. This means cost savings through not having to recruit or train replacements.
In our increasingly global environment with rising customer expectations of service levels and access to products etc, offering flexible working may well mean that you can adapt more effectively to your customers’ needs. Whilst the initial steps in deviating from historical working patterns / practices can seem daunting, the benefits to your customers and therefore your business in the long term may be realised.
Improved employee motivation & reputation as an employer
Whilst a desire for flexible working may not be a motivator for all employees, those who have been offered the opportunity to balance their work and home life tend to be extremely grateful. Indeed within companies offering flexible working opportunities to all employees irrespective of legal obligations, employee engagement & satisfaction ratings tend to be higher. Employees generally are more motivated and committed – and prepared to go the extra mile if they feel their employer is being accommodating of their requirements. High performing employees are likely to have more choices in terms of employer, therefore offering flexible working as a benefit is likely to give you more access to the best employees, as an employer with a good reputation for balancing business and employee needs.
Moving with the times! – get ahead socially & technologically
Some would say that we are moving into a new world where different people will work different hours at different stages of their lives, utilising the fast moving technological advances we’re experiencing. Some would also say that socially employers have a responsibility to enable parents to spend some more time with their children: statistics suggest that some of the current social problems in the UK are a result of parents spending less time with their children.
By encouraging more quality time for families, improvements in society will be seen in the longer term ie reduced vandalism & crime, and a more skilled youth. Employers need to consider how they want to be perceived by current and prospective employees, and also what kind of values they represent. Stakeholders and customers alike will also likely be influenced by both the working environment created by the employer and the employer’s approach to the community/society.
Aside from any social arguments, there are robust business benefits to be gained from being more progressive than you have been historically: Think creatively yet logically: Home working can reduce overhead costs for employers (eg desk/office sharing) so by recognising the amount of work that is done in many roles using today’s technology ie computers, telephone etc, employers can often utilise home working requests to their advantage – limited interruptions too can serve to increase productivity. See the later section called Tips for Managers – how to make it work in practice.
Finally, there are proposals in place to extend Flexible Working regulations to cover those with parental responsibilities of children up to the age of 18 (from 6 currently) within a couple of years – so think and act ahead of your competitors and make the most of the benefits employers can gain from offering flexible working arrangements.
The Rules…
To be eligible to apply to work flexibly the applicant must…
- Be an employee with 26 weeks continuous service on the date the application is made. - Have a child under six or a disabled child under 18.
- Make the application no later than two weeks before the child’s sixth birthday (or 18th birthday in the case of a disabled child).
- Have parental responsibility for the child (this includes biological parents, legal guardians, adoptive and foster parents, and spouses of these, including same sex partners as long as they have parental responsibility for the child
- Have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing.
- Be making the application to enable them to care for the child.
- Not have made another application to work flexibly under this right during the past 12 months.
Making the Application…
The application from the individual must
· Be made in writing, stating that it is being made under the statutory right to apply for flexible working
· The application must confirm the employee’s relationship to the child
· The application must set out the employee’s proposal and explain what effect the employee thinks this will have on the employer’s business and how this may be dealt with
· The application must specify a start date for the proposed change giving the employer reasonable time to consider the proposal and implement it
· The application must state whether a previous application has been made and if so the date on which it was made
Employees should be aware that if approved, the variation in contractual terms is a permanent one and the employee has no automatic right to change back to their previous pattern of work (unless a trial period has been specifically agreed by both parties).
The Process…
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Employer Receives Application for Flexible Working
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Within 28 Days
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Arrange Meeting to Discuss Request
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Within 14 Days
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Employer Writes Notifying Employee of their Decision
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Reject the Request, Setting Out Clear Business Reasons for the Rejection together with Notification of the Appeals Process
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Confirm a Compromise Agreed at the Meeting
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Accept request and Establish a Start Date
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…allow the employee to be accompanied by a work colleague if they so wish
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Employee Decides Whether to Appeal
Within 14 Days
Meeting Held to Discuss Appeal
Within 14 Days
Employer Writes Notifying Employee of Decision
Employer Receives Written Appeal
Dismiss the Appeal, State the Grounds for the Decision and Contain a Sufficient Explanation of the Refusal
Uphold Appeal and Specify the Agreed Variation and Start Date
…allow the employee to be accompanied by a work colleague if they so wish
Tips for Managers…
When considering the request, ask yourself the following questions to make sure you have thought about every aspect of the proposal. Just because something has previously ‘not been the norm’, it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t or couldn’t work now and in the future. ‘Thinking outside of the box’ could enable you to turn a request into a positive opportunity for your business.
Job Analysis
· Do the Employee’s proposed hours fit in with the tasks outlined in the role?
· If not, could the tasks be divided up differently?
· Could you re-allocate some of the work to another team member?
· What will be the impact on customers of this change – could it be used to our customers’ advantage?
· Is there a compromise that could be reached that will satisfy the individual’s requirements as well as the company’s objectives?
Managing the New Arrangements
· How will the new arrangements be supervised and performance measured? Ensure outputs can be measured where possible and not the number of hours worked – set clear objectives and measure quality of service/work. Obtain & give feedback regularly.
· Will the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term costs of implementing the change?
· Will there be any Health and Safety considerations? (For example, a Health and Safety Workstation assessment will need to be completed for those working from home).
Impact on the Team
· Advise other team members of the change
· Ensure flexible workers remain informed and arrange for all important information to be forwarded onto them
· Involved flexible workers in all aspects of team-working
· Consider offering flexible working to those not covered by the Flexible Working regulations – this will help to combat any resentment from those employees who may have non-parental reasons for wanting to work flexibly (studying, outside interests, voluntary work, caring for other relatives etc)
How can I make it work in practice?
Job sharing normally consists of two individuals sharing a full-time position (in varying proportions ie 50/50 or 60/40 etc, however they should have separate employment contracts stating the agreed hours to be worked accordingly. Many arrangements allow for some overlap to ensure sufficient communication / handover. With notice, some job share individuals will be happy to cover their “partner’s” absences eg providing holiday cover etc without the need to source additional temporary support in such cases. Job sharing may come about by two current employees agreeing to share a role, or by a previously full-time employee wishing to reduce their hours and the employer agreeing to advertise the rest of the role as a job share position. Whilst there may be some additional costs incurred (due to some overlap of hours for handover purposes, some benefits not able to be pro-rated eg Private Medical Insurance etc), most job share arrangements once established offer the employer increased flexibility and the benefit of higher morale & commitment. Whilst managing two individuals rather than one may sound onerous, their different skills / work style preferences may well complement each other well to provide you as the employer a wider array of skills and abilities.
Home Working can often be an ideal solution for companies wishing to implement office/desk sharing thus saving in overhead costs. Furthermore, certain duties / aspects of a role can be carried out very productively from home – with no office distractions or interruptions. Whilst historically there have been concerns about how to manage employees remotely, many companies now measure success on outputs / quality of work & have found that some home working can be extremely productive. It may be worth reviewing your approach to Appraisals and criteria for measuring performance – remember just because someone is located in the office where you can ‘supervise’ them, it doesn’t mean they’re more productive than someone working from home with specific duties / tasks to perform. A Workstation Assessment should be carried out to ensure compliance with Health & Safety regulations and consideration needs to be given to confidentiality of information being accessed from home – but these issues are easily overcome and can be outweighed by cost savings and increased productivity, as well as higher employee motivation & commitment.
Preventing resentment amongst staff who are not covered by this legislation can be a perceived challenge for some employers. One of the best ways to overcome this is by opening up the opportunity to request flexible working to all employees. Whilst the concept sounds appealing, you will likely find that many employees choose not to request flexible working. Ideas such as enabling occasional home working on certain types of work, extended unpaid leave during quieter business periods, staggered start and finish times can all be turned into business benefits offering customers more flexibility and higher productivity & cost savings for the employer.
Refusing the Application? …
Any refusal will need to be made to the application in writing. You will need to give a valid legitimate business reason if you are going to refuse the request, and you will need to think about your reasons carefully. Applications for flexible working arrangements can be refused only for the following reasons:
• The additional costs will impose a burden.
• Agreeing to the request will have a detrimental effect on ability to
meet customer demand.
• Inability to re-organise work among existing staff.
• Inability to recruit additional staff.
• Agreeing to the request will have a detrimental impact on quality
or performance.
• There is insufficient work during the periods the employee
proposes to work.
• There are planned structural changes.
The reason needs to be detailed clearly in the letter, along with the Appeals Procedure.
Failure to follow the guidelines could lead to a claim - the time limit for bringing a claim to an employment tribunal is three months from the date the employee is notified of the decision on appeal or breach of this procedure.
If the claim is successful, the tribunal may order the employer to reconsider the request and award maximum compensation of eight weeks’ pay (currently capped at £330 per week from 1 February 2008).
Should you require an HR Consultant’s assistance on this or other HR matters, please contact Jane Barclay (jane434barclay@btinternet.com)
[This overview is intended for general advice only – employers should consult an employment lawyer for assistance with legal matters]
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