New Flexible Working Regulations Come into Force
As of Monday 30th June 2014, the right to request flexible working has been extended to all employees. The new system sees employees, who have been with the same company for 26 weeks or longer, have the right to request to work flexibly; regardless of whether or not they are a parent or carer – which was previously the only right to flexible working conditions.
This change could help employers to attract and retain their staff and show their employees that they have an understanding of the complexities of modern working lives. These flexible working regulations will also help to meet the increasingly 24/7 needs of global customer bases.
Research has found that 73% of employers reported a positive impact on motivation and engagement when they do offer flexible working, and over 75% feel it also helps them retain staff.
However, some ‘rules’ do need to be in place, for example when a new employee is being recruited, they should be informed of any provisions for flexible working and an order process should be agreed on. Any request for flexible working should be considered, but be considered fairly and with due attention. Also, there are eight specified business grounds in which employers will be able to reject flexible working requests:
- Additional Costs
- An effect of the ability to meet customer demand
- Inability to reorganise work among existing staff
- Inability to recruit new staff
- A detrimental impact on quality
- A detrimental impact on performance
- Insufficiency of work during period or work proposed by the employee
- Planned structural changes.
