Are your flexible working policies up to scratch? What should they cover? We know that we are living in an age in which flexible working is often essential to attracting talent to your business and motivating your workforce. Flexible working and family leave policies are undoubtedly important, but definition of these terms varies from person to person, so how does your organisation work out the right approach?
Your workers may have family or other commitments, or they may simply work more effectively at certain times than at others. Whatever the circumstances, a one-size-fits-all policy would be an impediment to business nowadays. All of the research points to fixed and inflexible working patterns rapidly becoming a thing of the past in many sectors, but it will be for each business to decide on a policy that works.
It is the statutory right of every employee to ask to work flexibly after at least 26 weeks of continuous employment, when they have not made a similar request within the last 12 months. A flexible working policy document should be drawn up setting out this right. Employees should be aware of their various options for flexible working, which may include working remotely, job sharing and part-time working.
In the case of formal requests, there should be a proper procedure in place. The process is quite complicated due to the extent of the information that the employee is required to provide and the format in which it is expected to be given, so devising a standard form and publishing it as part of your policy will be of great benefit to all concerned. You should also confirm that all requests will receive due consideration and set out a timescale up to three months for the entire process, including time for appeal. Refusal should be for legitimate and stated reasons.
Finally, there should be a clear reference where necessary to a trial period for new arrangements, and an unambiguous explanation of what will happen once that trial period comes to an end in the event that the new working pattern proves acceptable.
It should be added that in many cases businesses allow ‘informal’ requests outside the parameters of statutory rights, for which it is also good practice to have a proper application and decision-making system in place.
Additional information and guidance on all of these matters has been published by Acas in its guide ‘The right to flexible working’.
Have a question about flexible working policies? Contact Alison via email for more information.