Flexible working beyond the pandemic

The pandemic has forced many employers to abandon their normal working arrangements.

You may have allowed employees to work from home, work less hours or move onto a different working pattern to meet government guidelines and accommodate employees’ personal circumstances.

As a result, they may prefer this new way of working, and as the final stage of lockdown is lifted, employers should prepare to receive an influx of flexible working requests from workers who are reluctant to revert to your pre-pandemic set-up.

Watch the short training video below to find out how to manage flexible working requests compliantly.

Enter your email address below to watch this short training video on flexible working.

Related resources

Employer's Guide to Flexible Working

Application Form

Request Acceptance Letter

Request Rejection Letter

Any employee with over 26 weeks’ service has the statutory right to request flexible working. However, this doesn’t mean they have a right to be granted flexible working.

The term itself has become very diverse, encompassing everything from hybrid working, part-time working, term-time working and much more.

Finding a solution that supports the wellbeing of your employees whilst also serving your wider business objectives can be a tough balancing act. Rejecting a request can cause hard-working employees to disengage and handling the process incorrectly could land you with a costly Employment Tribunal claim. At the same time, you have a business to manage, and ensuring high-levels of productivity are maintained and objectives are met will always be a top priority.

To help business owners and senior managers get it right, Employment Law expert David Eastwood has produced a free short training video to guide you through the key factors employers should consider when deciding whether or not to grant a request, as well as the legal process you need to follow and the timeframe you need to adhere to.

During this informative 10-minute session, we cover:

What is flexible working?
What rights do employees have to demand this?
What process needs to be followed?
Can I refuse?
What are the consequences of getting it wrong?

Many businesses have now embraced the ‘new ways of working’ forced upon them by the pandemic, seeing this as an opportunity to bring about a long-term step-change which can be mutually beneficial to both employers and employees.

Indeed, flexible working can support employees seeking to achieve a healthy work-life balance and help employers to remain competitive and recruit and retain talent – provided these arrangements are thought out, implemented and managed properly.

We hope you find this video informative. If you still have unanswered questions, take a look at our Employer’s Guide to Flexible Working.

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