Flexible working is increasingly commonplace and most employers will have had experience of employees whose working pattern is atypical, or of employees who have made a request to change their working pattern which they may not have been prepared for, or able to agree to.
With people living and working longer, as well as an increase in the number of working-age people with responsibilities to provide care for elderly relatives, it is likely that more and more people will want working arrangements that are a lot different than the standard 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday.
Employers that are able to take a positive approach and seek to accommodate different working patterns may gain more than just an engaged employee; they may become an employer of choice in a buyer’s market and also gain a wider competitive advantage.
When is a request made in accordance with the statutory regime?
There are a few requirements for a flexible working request to be valid:
- The employee needs to have 26 weeks’ service and not have made a flexible working request in the last 12 months
- Be in writing
- State that it is a request under the statutory procedure
- Specify the change the employee wants and when they want it to start
- Say what impact the employee believes the change will have on the business and how any such effects could be dealt with
- Say whether the employee has made a previous application for flexible working and if so, when
- Be dated
I’ve received a vaild request. How do I handle it?
The key here is making sure that you handle the request in a reasonable manner. What this means largely depends on whether you think you are going to be able to accommodate the employee’s request or not. If the request is one that you think you will be able to agree to, then it is open to you to confirm your agreement, agree a date from which the change will take place and then ensure that you document this alongside the employee’s acceptance of it.
This can be done without a meeting with the employee. However, a meeting is a sensible opportunity to iron out any minor points, such as the date that the new arrangements will apply from and any changes to the employee’s take-home pay that will follow from the change.
In all other cases, either where you might be able to accommodate the employee’s flexible working request but need to explore it, or where you believe that the request is one that you are not going to be able to accommodate, then you must have a meeting with the employee to discuss the request.
