Alcumus SafeHR
Alcumus SafeHR
Flexible working has become much more common and grown in importance as a way of working in the last couple of years, as we all struggled to work out how best to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, and our staff got used to the flexibility of working remotely when they were able to do so.
Many employers are now looking at hybrid working patterns, as restrictions ease, and more people are coming back into the office, even for just some of their working week. But individual flexible working requests are also available by law to eligible employees – they may feel like a HR hassle you’d rather avoid, and yet it’s important to know how to deal with them correctly, to avoid legal challenges.
The government has also recently issued a consultation paper looking at changing the law and shifting the emphasis to give employees stronger rights on flexible working. The proposal is that an employee will have more than just the right to request flexible working, in that they’ll have a default right to a flexible working pattern unless there are good reasons why not. The consultation is also looking at increasing the number of employees that can apply for flexible working.
It is worth remembering that there are many benefits to offering flexible working for an employer too, such as access to a wider talent pool, a more loyal and engaged workforce, reduced absenteeism, and improved wellbeing.
But what are your current rights as an employer? After all, you’ve got the commercial needs of your business to meet. And if one person is entitled to a flexible working arrangement, does that mean you have to make the same allowances for everyone?
Here’s how to handle things fairly and legally.
Flexible working is when an employee’s working pattern is adjusted to better accommodate their needs.
Just as everyone’s needs vary, so do flexible working arrangements, from a simple alteration in start and finish times, to a more complex pattern of annualized hours.
Many employers are now looking at a standard hybrid working model across their organisation to allow staff to split their time between office and home, provided a certain minimum time in the office is maintained per week. This has come on the back of being forced to get staff working from home successfully during the Covid-19 pandemic, where that was possible for your business.
As restrictions ease, many employees are keen to keep some of the flexibility that working from home gave them, while gradually getting used to working from the office again for at least some of the time.
Adopting a hybrid working model is your choice and you can find out more about this here. What we are concentrating on in this guide is how to handle individual flexible working requests that staff may make under the law that has been in place since 2014, giving them to right to request a change in their working pattern.
Any employee who’s worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks is entitled to make a flexible working request. Flexible working is no longer reserved just for parents or carers.
An employee is only entitled to one flexible working request every 12 months. This prevents employees chopping and changing their work patterns excessively.
Many employers will make allowances for a second request if they recognise their employee’s circumstances have changed unexpectedly.
You don’t have to accept the request, but if you do decline it, you must provide justification for doing so on one of the following grounds, :
If you decline a request, failing to provide at least one of the above justifications could leave you open to a legal claim.
Informal requests: In some instances, an employee may come to you informally and ask for a temporary arrangement that is easily granted. In this scenario, simply hold a meeting to agree the details and confirm the new arrangements in writing. There’s no need to make things more complicated.
Formal requests: For more complex, or longer-term changes, there are four key steps to managing formal flexible working requests.
Their request needs to include:
Some businesses like their employees to complete an application form, to make sure that they cover off all the required information.
Next invite the employee to a formal meeting. It’s best practice to give them written notice of the meeting and let them know they have the right to bring a representative.
During this meeting, invite the employee to explain their reasons for the request and discuss any potential challenges the business might face in trying to accommodate it. If you’re unsure whether the request can be met, explore any potential to compromise.
A concern many managers face when it comes to questioning employees about their flexible working requests is how much they can actually ask. Often the reason behind a request is personal, and employers are unsure what questions could be considered too intrusive.
However, it’s important that you have a full understanding of the reasons behind the request. This means you’ll be better able to fairly weigh up the impact of the request on the business, versus the impact saying no might have on the individual.
So, don’t be too hesitant to ask for the information you need in order to understand the situation in full and make a fair decision. Just let the employee know that there’s no pressure to share any details they’re uncomfortable sharing.
The key questions to ask are:
Here you may need to draw out further details to help you assess the situation.
For example, if a full-time employee asks not to work on a Tuesday from now on, and they say it’s for dependent care, you could ask the following questions:
You must notify the employee of your decision within three months of their request, but we recommend that you respond to the request as soon as you can. Also bear in mind that the three month period also includes the time that any appeal procedure may take.
If you’re declining their request, you must explain your reasoning for doing so using at least one of the established list of justifications.
It’s important to be aware that if you refuse a request for flexible working, the employee does have the right to appeal the decision. Ideally, their appeal should be heard by a more senior manager. If you must hear it yourself, do so as objectively as possible.
As it can often be hard to know for sure whether you’ll be accommodate a request until you try it, you may want to agree to test the change. Three months is often a good length of time for both parties to assess the impact of the change.
Formally review the situation at the end of the trial period and inform the employee of your decision to either make the change permanent, or decline the initial request, providing your reasoning.
If the trial has not been successful for the business, this can then be used to evidence why you can’t make the change permanent.
While requesting flexible working is now an entitlement for everyone, the majority of flexible working requests have historically come from those returning from maternity leave, although this may now change.
Key to watch here is that flexible working requests are handled formally. You’ll likely have several informal catch-ups with your employee while they’re on maternity leave, but it’s important to be mindful that any informal discussions around their plans to return to work have the potential to be misinterpreted by one side.
If your employee would like to make a flexible working request for their return after maternity, it’s important to work through the request in detail with them, recording the specifics of the request and your decision in writing, to be sure that both parties are in agreement.
If the employee has requested to change their working pattern on a permanent basis, their contract must be changed to reflect this.
If the request is only for a temporary period, you can agree a more informal arrangement without having to make changes to contracts. Any decisions should be confirmed in writing to make sure the situation is clear on both sides.
Once a contractual change has been made, the employee no longer has the right to return their previous pattern of work. The change is permanent.
Similarly, you don’t have the right to put them back on their previous arrangements, even if the circumstances that led to their request have changed, e.g. their children have grown up.
Take time to consider the individual’s request and, when meeting with the employee, try and discuss other options which could be viable if their initial request looks problematic. Be open to ideas, do not discount them immediately and remember that recruiting a new person is costly.
The nature of the request will be perfect for the employee, but it could be detrimental to your business. You may need to try and negotiate a compromise that suits both of you. If you can’t accommodate the request, make sure you provide sound justification as to why.
Many employers worry that if they permit one flexible working request the flood gates will open and everyone to want similar changes.
It’s important to remember that just because you’ve permitted one arrangement for one individual, it won’t automatically entitle others to the same arrangements. You’d need to assess each request against the circumstances within the business at the time the request was made.
For instance, while you may feel that you can accommodate the absence of one of your two sales advisors between 4 and 5 pm, you could reasonably argue that you would be unable to meet customer demand, should the second advisor then ask to leave at 4pm too.
This could be a very personally challenging and delicate time for the employee and they may find the process very difficult.
Once a formal flexible working request is approved it replaces the employee’s existing working hours in their contract. It’s often best to make the change temporary at first so that, if it doesn’t fit your business, the change can be reversed.
The content of this blog is for general information only. Please don’t rely on it as legal or other professional advice as that is not what we intend. You can find more detail on this in our Terms of Website Use. If you require professional advice, please get in touch.
If you’ve received a flexible working request from an employee, but feel unsure whether you can accommodate it, our HR consultants can help.
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