Flexible Working

The government is committed to helping working parents. From 6 April 2003, parents of children aged under six or disabled children aged under 18 have the right to apply to work flexibly and their employers will have a duty to consider these requests seriously.

The Government has also increased and extended maternity leave and pay and introduced rights to paid adoption and paternity leave. These rights, together with existing rights to parental leave and time off for dependants, provide parents with more opportunities than ever before to balance work and family life, whilst being compatible with, and beneficial to, business efficiency.

Eligibility criteria
An employee must:

• Have 26 weeks' continuous service with the same employer.
• Have the responsibility for the upbringing of a child under 6 or a disabled child under 18.
• Be making the request in order to care for the child and make the application no later than two weeks before the child's 6th birthday or 18th birthday for a disabled child.
• Have not made a request to work flexibly in the previous 12 months.

The procedure
It is up to the employee to make a considered application in writing. They are only able to make one application a year under the right, and accepted applications will mean a permanent change to the employee's own terms and conditions of employment unless otherwise agreed between both parties. It is important therefore that, before making an application, the employee gives careful consideration to which working pattern will help them best care for their child; any financial implications it might have on them in cases where the desired working pattern will involved a drop in salary and any effects it will have on their employer's business and how these might be accommodated.

Within 28 days of receiving the request, the employer must arrange to meet with the employee. This provides the employer and the employee with the opportunity to explore the proposed work pattern in depth and to discuss how best it might be accommodated. It also provides an opportunity to consider other alternative working patterns should there be any problems accommodating the work pattern outlined in the employee's application. The employee can, if they want, bring with them a worker employed by the same employer as a companion.

Within 14 days  after the date of the meeting, the employer must write to the employee to either agree to a new work pattern and a start date; or to provide clear reasons why flexible working request was rejected.

Examples of flexible ways of working

• Annualised hours - Working time organised on the basis of the number of hours to be worked over a year rather than a week.
• Compressed hours - Allows individuals to work their number of agreed hours over a shorter period of time. For example, employees might work their full weekly hours over four rather than five days.
• Flexitime - Gives employees choice about their actual working hours, usually outside certain agreed core times.
• Home working - Doesn't have to be on a full-time basis and it may suit an employee to divide their time between home and office.
• Job-sharing - Typically involves two people employed on a part-time basis, but working together to cover a full-time post.
• Shift-working - Gives employers the scope to have their business open for longer periods than an eight-hour day.
• Staggered hours - Allows employees to start and finish their day at different times.
• Term-time working - Allows employees to take unpaid leave of absence during the school holidays.
• Part-time working - Defined as anything less than the hours worked in a week.