Employees are giving a good work-life balance more and more importance, compelling employers to consider flexible working to attract prospective employees and retain their current employees’ key talent.
One flexible working arrangement which can offer some great benefits to employers is job sharing. Job sharing is when two, or sometimes more, colleagues share one role. Essentially they do the same job, but they split the hours. Pay and benefits are then allocated on a pro rata basis.
Why is job sharing beneficial for employers?
Allowing job sharing in your organisation enables you to retain key skills and experience which may otherwise leave and attract those who may not be able to do the job any other way due to family or personal commitments.
Job sharing can also increase productivity and employers can benefit from the different skills of each of the job share partners.
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How can job sharing work in your organisation?
Evidently, it will only work if the two people who are job sharing can work together and ensure common goals are met.
Each organisation will arrange working hours as they best see fit, but some may decide that employee A will work in the morning and employee B will work in the afternoon with some overlap. Or perhaps employee A will work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning and employee B will work Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday. Alternatively, you may decide that employees will work alternative weeks.
It‘s extremely important that there is excellent communication between the job share partners and clarity as to what work has already been done and what is left to be completed. This is why there should be regular handovers, for example daily or weekly. The job share partners also need to liaise about annual leave and training courses. If these details are not clear, this is likely to lead to considerable confusion and conflict between the pair.
Why should the arrangement be kept under review?
You should frequently review the arrangement to ensure that the role remains suitable for job sharing; the relationship between the two remains strong and they are each performing according to the standards expected. If issues arise, you will need to take steps to address them. It may be that you need to stop the job share if they can’t work together and/or it is causing significant wider problems.
To find out about other flexible working arrangements, have a read of:
To discuss job sharing and other flexible working arrangements which could work at your organisation, contact your Employment Law Adviser.
