Did you know that all employees who have 6 months’ service with you can now put in a request for flexible working?
It’s not just your employees who are parents or carers who can put in an official request to change their working patterns – now everyone can.
And what’s more, there is no restriction on the reason for the request. In the past, the majority of the requests were in relation to dropping children off at school or picking them up; or maybe a woman who was returning from maternity leave wanted to reduce her days from five to three so that she could spend more time at home with her new baby.
However the changes in the rules means that your staff can ask for a change in their working hours because they want to play in a Cricket league and all matches are played on a Saturday afternoon when this is your employee’s normal working day. Or an employee could ask to start work an hour later each day because “he just isn’t a morning person”.
You have a duty to consider the request although there is no longer a need to follow a statutory procedure. There is also more flexibility in terms of when to hold a discussion about a request with an employee; and when to make the employee aware of your decision. The old rules included having to hold a meeting within 28 days of the date the request was received but these have been removed. You now have a general principle of concluding the process within three months.
If you would like to find out more on how Ward Williams HR can assist with Flexible Working Rights. Please feel free to Sally Phillips: sally.phillips@wardwilliams.co.uk or give us a call on 01932 830 664