From 30th June 2014, all employees in the UK who have been employed by their organisation for 6 months or more will have the right to request flexible working arrangements. ALL companies have a legal obligation to respond to these requests – which poses the question: Is YOUR organisation ready to take flexible working seriously?
First things first, it’s useful to understand that the term ‘flexible working’ can span a whole host of scenarios. An employee could request that they work from another location, such as from home or a different office. Another employee might request that they work outside of the usual 9-5 working pattern that dominates most companies, because they’re looking to achieve a better work-life balance. An increasingly popular request is to compress hours – this means that an employee can squeeze their full time hours into 4 days, rather than the usual 5 day week.
Put simply, the new legislation means that flexible working isn’t just for busy working parents anymore – it applies, affects and includes EVERYONE.
At People Lab, we understand and believe that flexible working can play a huge role in successful employee engagement. If an employee is supported to work flexibly, they’ll feel trusted by their employer to do a good job, without their boss peering over their shoulder. The employee will also feel that they have more freedom and autonomy to go about their day, because their employer supports their quest to do a good job – in a way that works for everyone.
You only have to take a look at the full UK List of Top Employers to know that flexible working has a huge impact on engagement – flexible working is listed as one of the key Secondary Benefits of working for one of these fantastic companies.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business shared this sentiment, stating that:
[box]”Family friendly policies and economic growth can go hand in hand. Flexible working really can help employers boost productivity and profits.“[/box]
Prior to releasing the new legislation, the Government undertook an impact assessment in 2012 to determine the predicted effects of this new way of working. As part of this assessment, the Govt. estmated that in the first 10 years alone, the economic benefits could reach a staggering £475m.
These benefits are predicted to be a direct result of the increased productivity, lower labour turnover, and reduced absenteeism that the new flexible working arrangements will inevitably provide. We know that employee engagement has a direct impact on productivity, turnover and absenteeism – and the new right to request flexibility will only serve to increase engagement across the globe.
You can download the Government’s Impact Asessment here, to find out more about the predicted benefits of the new legislation.
[box] With the benefits to employees in mind, do you feel that your organisation is prepared for these changes? Do you feel confident in approaching your employer with a flexible working request? Does your company already support flexible working – if so, what effects have you experienced as a result?We’d love to hear from you – please leave you comments in the section below, or contact us via our Linked In group. [/box]
Resources
The CIPD offer a full factsheet on flexible working practices – you can download the document here for further guidance.
If you’d like to find out more about the new legislation, take a look at the Acas advice forum.
A panel of HR specialists was formed to discuss the Government’s proposals to allow new parents to share a year’s leave, and the extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees – watch the short video of the event below:
