Government proposes to extend flexible working requests

The Government has launched a consultation into changing current flexible working legislation. This is open until 1st December 2021, where the responses will then be reviewed and a decision on any changes confirmed. Until then, all current rules and processes will remain in place as usual.

Its proposal is to introduce measures to help make flexible working the default, unless employers have good reasons not to. It aims to bring more employees into the scope of the legislation by making the right to request flexible working available from day-1 of employment. The government has recognised that external events (for example, the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated impact on home-life and caring responsibilities) are not limited to people who have worked in their roles for 6 months. It has also been raised that underrepresented groups, like new parents and disabled workers, are more in need of flexible working opportunities. However, there is a wider belief that the introduction of these measures will benefit productivity, motivation, retention and competitiveness, as well as help attract more talent to organisations.

The consultation is also assessing whether the current 8 business reasons for refusal are still valid, although the assumption is that fundamental changes are not needed in this area.

A separate assessment is being completed into the administrative processes associated with managing flexible working requests; specifically, the time scales for responding and the ability for employees to make more than one request per year, which is currently all they are entitled to. The government is considering allowing employees to submit a higher number of requests, to remove any unnecessary barriers to accessing flexible working arrangements amongst those whose personal situations might be impacted more frequently than every 12 months.

Similarly, the statutory Code of Practice outlines that employers should respond to requests within a 3-month period but the government is debating whether to make it a requirement to respond more promptly and the effect on organisations if this was introduced. Organisations should already be prepared for processing flexible working requests without any unreasonable delays, with many of them not needing the full 3 months to respond. As such, it is expected that this change, if implemented, won’t have a detrimental impact on organisations. But, employers may need to be prepared to manage a surge in requests being submitted by their workforce. This might involve hiring more HR personnel and undertaking training courses to ensure managers know how to deal with requests efficiently.

In addition, if the proposal is approved, employers should be prepared to amend their current policies and procedures on flexible working, to ensure they are compliant with the new legislation. We await the outcome of the consultation to see the exact impact on current practices and better understand what organisations will have to do moving forwards.

Considering introducing Hybrid working?

As hybrid working continues to gather popularity, this article will be the first in a series exploring the pros and cons, how to implement it, and options for the companies that can’t.

What is hybrid working?

Hybrid working is where staff conduct a mixture of working from home and from the office. Whilst it is not a new concept, as the option to work from home through flexible working existed prior to the pandemic, it is something that has become much more popular in recent times. Staff that have successfully worked from home during the last 12 months may want to continue doing so going forward and respond poorly to a full-time return to the workplace. Hybrid working could therefore be a compromise for this, permitting staff to work form home whilst also maintaining a degree of office attendance.

Benefits of hybrid working

Guidance across Britain remains that staff should work from home if they can, however organisations may be expecting some push back from employees when they are asked to return to the workplace and indeed could already have seen this last year. As we emerge out of the pandemic, employees may be increasingly thinking about their long-term career goals, and flexibility in their jobs could be a key aspect of this. Hybrid working could therefore be a solution to this issue.

The increased flexibility with hybrid working could be well received by employees, helping them to better work towards a work-life balance, something that is becoming increasingly popular with a modern-day workforce. This could be crucial in maintaining morale and staff retention as we go forward, especially if employees are still anxious about a full-time return to the workplace.

It should also be remembered by organisations that if they do not explore hybrid working options, their competitors may be willing to do so, something that could deprive them of otherwise valuable members of staff.

Cons of hybrid working

Of course, hybrid working isn’t a perfect solution for all businesses, and indeed some may see more drawbacks than others. For example, some roles may be difficult to undertake from home, even on a part-time basis, and managers will need to take this into account. There is also the issue of staff feeling more isolated when working from home, although hybrid working may go towards mitigating this issue.

Staff may also be more difficult to manage remotely, with the potential encouragement for them to see the days they aren’t in the office as days where they need to work less hard. To this end, it will be important for management to monitor staff in these situations and be prepared to take further actions should there be issues in productivity, which we will explore in the next article.

It should be remembered that not all staff may want to go down the hybrid working route, and indeed may feel very demotivated by a move to do so.

Conclusion

In all, the introduction of hybrid working comes with varied pros and cons, but it is something that many organisations may increasingly be looking to introduce.

Flexible working opportunities for all

New research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has revealed that nearly half of employees do not have flexible working in their current role.

In response, and to promote fairness and inclusion at work, the CIPD is launching a new campaign, #FlexFrom1st, encouraging employers to support flexible working for all.

To reinforce these principles, the Institute is also calling for a change in the law in order to make the right to request flexible working a day-one right for all employees.

The survey of over 2000 employees found that while the current pandemic has driven a huge increase in working from home, 44% of employees have not worked from home at all since the beginning of the crisis.

92% of those employees say that this is because the nature of their job does not allow them to.

Around a fifth (19%) of employees say they work for organisations that do not offer any flexible working arrangements while twice as many (41%) say it is unfair that some people can work from home while others have to continue to attend their place of work and have little flexibility in how they work.

CIPD Chief Executive, Peter Cheese, said: ‘We need a new understanding about what flexible working is and we need employers to embrace flexible working arrangements beyond home working, to give opportunity and choice to all. Employees may not always be able to change where they work, but they should have more choice and a say in when and how they work.’

Those without access to flexible working are around twice as likely to be dissatisfied in their job, compared to those who do, he pointed out.

CIPD research has clearly identified the benefits of flexible working arrangements for employers and employees: from improved wellbeing and work-life balance to greater productivity.

Full details of the “Flex from 1st” campaign can be found here.