Public Servant Lifestyle

A new handbook has been launched to guide employers through the new right of parents to request flexible working.

The Right to Request

There's been much publicity lately about people not knowing about the new right to request flexible working. As a result Parents At Work – the campaigning charity, which helps working parents and employers reap the benefits of work-life balance practice - have produced a new guide entitled The Right to Request. Not only is this an extensive guide to legislation for employers, but it also gives step-by-step guidance to managers on how to properly assess and process flexible working requests.

This was highlighted recently in a survey - Parental leave: how much do you know? - carried out by the Transport Salaried Staff Association (TSSA), which found that working parents were in the dark when it comes to their rights to leave and flexible hours. In that poll, a staggering 80% of those surveyed – which included public sector workers form London Underground, Caledonian MacBrayne and Northern Ireland Railways - did not know the maximum parental leave their employers allowed annually.

Since 6 April parents of children aged under six or of disabled children aged under 18 have had a statutory right to request that their employers consider an application to work flexibly. Yet The Right to Request reveals that nearly 54% of employers surveyed said their current procedures would need changing to satisfy the new legislation. In January the researchers surveyed 28 major organisations - the smallest employing 250 staff and the largest 135,000 staff - which between them employed nearly three quarters of a million people in a wide range of sectors.

Unwieldy?

Many employers surveyed were concerned that the new legal process will be more unwieldy than their current practice on handling flexible working requests. They wished to comply with the legislation, whilst continuing to offer the range of working options that have proved successful for their businesses and their employees.

The survey's key findings were:

82% of respondents already had a formal flexible working policy, with 68% providing guidance for staff on putting together an application

75% stated that the new legislation would not make them more likely to grant a flexible working request, as they had their own policies in place

As a result of the new legislation, 71% will introduce a formal appeals procedure if requests to work flexibly are denied

Commenting on the new laws, Raymond Jeffers, head of employment at Linklaters – who produced the report with Parents At Work - said: "On the positive side, the new legislation is likely to raise awareness of good flexible working models. On the negative side, the new law is likely to require a more bureaucratic process than most employers’ current, less formal practices. Also, as the legislation is aimed at one small group - of parents that fit the criteria - that could possibly lead to division in the workplace."

"Accessible and Comprehensive"

The Chief Executive of Parents At Work, Sarah Jackson said: "We think this accessible and comprehensive guide will help employers to meet the challenge of the new legislation and also enable them to take a fresh look at their existing practices. We know that the creative flexible solutions it suggests can improve the way they run their businesses, as well as their employees’ lives."

An employers' guide to implementing the flexible working legislation. This very readable volume has everything that employers need to know about implementing the right to request requirements of the Employment Act (2002).

As well as the Parents At Work/Linklater survey findings, The Right to Request is illustrated with case studies of current successful practice in major private sector organisations including HBOS, Lloyds TSB and BP – together with a survey of leading organisations' responses to the legislation. The publication also discusses the full range of flexible working that employees are likely to request.

Parents At Work produce a number of factsheets covering everything from new maternity rights, to flexible working, tax credits and new rights for fathers. To access these, visit the Parents At Work website here.

To order a copy of The Right to Request (price £9.50 incl. p&p), visit the Parents At Work website. Alternatively you can make enquiries via email: info@parentsatwork.org.uk.

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