On Monday
30 June 2014, new regulations came into force regarding flexible working hours.
Now all employees who have been with you for at least 26 weeks can request
flexibility in the hours they work. Previously only parents or other carers
could expect this to be considered and granted. Now this category of employee
no longer has to be given priority as every request must be considered on its
merits.
You Don’t Have to Agree
Clearly,
allowing this will be more difficult for entrepreneurs with small businesses
and therefore fewer staff and resources. But you must give all such requests
reasonable consideration, and you can only deny them for valid business
reasons. These might be that there won’t be enough work to do through the proposed
new hours of work, while you won’t be able to meet customer demand outside
those hours. You can’t get the work covered by your current staff, and you
can’t recruit more staff because you can’t afford it. Work performance and
overall business performance will suffer.
If you
really can’t allow flexible working, you are less likely to attract the best
people, so it will be worth making what efforts you can to accommodate
requests. Perhaps your outsourced
bookkeepers can help if you discuss your needs with them.
Jo
Swinson, the business minister, has said, "Firms that embrace flexible
working are more likely to attract and retain the best talent and reap the
benefits of a more motivated workforce. Employees will benefit from being able
to balance work with other commitments in their lives. It also helps drive a
cultural shift where flexible working becomes the norm."
Flexible Working Versus Flexitime
Flexitime
has been operating, mostly in large companies, for a number of years. This is
where everyone has to work in set core hours and can make up their specified
work time at their convenience. It is different to the current concept of
flexible working, which can mean working at home or in places other than the
business premises, as well as being able to work outside the standard hours or
on certain days of the week.
Employees will
appreciate not having to travel to work every day of the week, or being able to
start earlier or later than normal. Directors and managers will have to find
ways to make it work wherever possible. Outsourcing some further aspects of
back office work could be the answer for some, and outsourced bookkeepers may be happy
to undertake this.
