What is flexible working?
Flexible working refers to an adaptation or modification to an employee’s work schedule to suit their needs. For example: job sharing; a change in hours; staggered start and finish times; phased retirement; or a change in working location, such as working from home.
Although the definition of flexible working is geared towards benefitting an employee, a business can also see many benefits when adopting more flexible practices.
What does the law say about flexible working?
Legally, flexible work can be denied if an employer has reasonable business grounds for the refusal. However, employees may have the right to request it. When they do, you must give it proper consideration.
Currently, so long as an employee has 12 months continuous employment, they have the right to make a flexible working request. The request must be in writing, and you have 21 days in which to consider it and arrive at a decision. During this time, you may discuss the request with the employee.
You are perfectly entitled to reject the flexible working request, but your decision to do so must be underpinned by a solid business reason – something like the burden of additional costs on you or a negative impact on productivity.
A balanced approach to flexible working
Do balance the positives of flexible working requests in your decision making, too. Your employee is engaging with you when faced with a challenge in their personal life (in the case of the school scenario. Sometimes the request may be more whimsical.). If they are good, finding a solution that works for both parties may be key to retaining them.
If they have gone down the formal process laid out above, a permanent change of contract will be required, should you grant the request. Clarify with them that this is what they want. If the motivation is a temporary one – like a Kindy aged child being on half-days for two weeks – a more informal, temporary agreement may be reached.
Why might an employee submit a flexible working request?
There are many reasons why an employee might submit a flexible working request as it will come down to their specific needs.
For example, flexible work requests often come from employees caring for dependants. They need to balance caring or childcare responsibilities with work.
Employees are legally permitted unpaid time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant. But a request for flexible working is different and may facilitate their needs better in the long term.
Working parents and carers are not the only ones who may need flexible working however, and every request will need to be treated fairly to avoid claims of discrimination. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact your local HR Dept.