Millions to get enhanced flexibility at work with new measures

MILLIONS of workers in the country will have increased freedom in choosing their work locations and schedules as Flexible Working Bill has received royal assent, a statement said.

Employees will now be entitled to request flexible working arrangements from the start of a new job and employers are required to consider all such requests and provide a justification in case of refusal.

According to the statement, flexible working is working hours or pattern including part-time, term-time, flexi-time, compressed hours, or adjusting start and finish times.

It can also include flexibility over where someone works, whether that be from home or a satellite office shortening their commute.

“Not only does flexible working help individuals fit work alongside other commitments – whether it’s the school drop off, studying or caring for vulnerable friends and family – it’s good business sense too, helping firms to attract more talent, increase retention and improve workforce diversity," said business and trade minister Kevin Hollinrake.

“I want to thank Yasmin Qureshi, MP and all the campaigners who have helped make this bill a reality and improved the lives of workers across the UK.”

According to CIPD research, 6 percent of employees changed jobs last year due to lack of flexibility and 12 percent left their profession altogether. This represents almost two and four million workers respectively.

Now, employers need to consult with the employee before rejecting their flexible working request. Workers can make two statutory requests in any 12-month period (rather than the current one request).

The waiting times for decisions was reduced to two months and the existing requirements that the employee must explain the effect of the change on the employer and its counter measures also removed.

The government also launched a call for evidence on non-statutory flexible working to improve on knowledge of the extent of flexibility in the labour market.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) will be updating its statutory Code of Practice following a consultation.

“Our new draft code encourages employers to take a positive approach to flexible working and addresses all the new changes in the act. We are keen to get views to ensure that it is clear and relevant for the modern workplace," said Susan Clews, chief executive, ACAS.

Jane van Zyl, chief executive of Working Families, said, “When employers implement flexible working effectively, they reap the benefits: from increased talent attraction and retention to better performance. We’re delighted to re-launch our Happy to Talk Flexible Working logo and strapline to support employers on their journey to creating high-performing, flexible workplaces.”

“By using the tagline ‘Happy To Talk Flexible Working’ in job advertisements, employers can open up recruitment to wider talent pools and create fairer and more inclusive workplaces. This transparency supports workers to ask for flexibility and helps to normalise the conversation for all groups," said Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD and chair of the government’s Flexible Working Taskforce.

“Many organisations are facing the dual challenges of skills shortages and talent retention issues and we know that offering flexible working can go a long way towards tackling these problems."