Employees are to be given a greater say over when, where, and how they work under new plans announced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to make flexible working the default oEmployees are to be given a greater say over when, where, and how they work under new plans announced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to make flexible working the default o#HRTipsption.
This could mean employees making use of job-sharing, flexitime and working compressed, annualised or staggered hours and should, the Department suggested, mean that businesses will benefit from higher productivity and staff retention.
Flexible working has, it pointed out, been found to help employees balance their work and home life, especially supporting those who have commitments or responsibilities such as caring for children or vulnerable people.
If an employer cannot accommodate a request to work flexibly, they will be required to discuss alternative options before they can reject the request. For example, if it is not possible to change an employee’s working hours on all days, they could consider making the change for certain days instead.
The announcement comes alongside new laws coming into effect that will allow Britain’s lowest paid workers to work more flexibly and boost their income through extra work.
Workers on contracts with a guaranteed weekly income on or below the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 a week will now be protected from exclusivity clauses being enforced against them, which restricted them from working for multiple employers.
Government commitment:
Following its response to the consultation on making flexible working the default option, the Government will:
Remove the 26-week qualifying period before employees can request flexible working, making it a day-one right;
Require employers to consult with their employees, as a means of exploring the available options, before rejecting a flexible working request;
Allow employees to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period;
Require employers to respond to requests within two months, down from three; and
Remove the requirement for employees to set out how the effects of their flexible working request might be dealt with by their employer.