There are some small but important changes to flexible working:
– You will be able to make 2 statutory requests over 12 months
– Employers will go from having 3 months to 2 months to respond to you

As it stands, you don’t get these rights until you pass the 26-week qualifying period.

HOWEVER, the Government has stated its intention to remove that period which we may see further details on in secondary legislation which would give these flexible working rights as ‘day one rights.’

What should employers be doing?

Talentometry are lucky in that many of the companies we recruit for do this really well already.

If you don’t, then develop a framework for how potential requests might (or might not) work for your company.

What can employees do right now?

We all know someone who has had to leave a job because life changed and their company wasn’t flexible enough to move with them.

These changes might mean your company re-think their approach to flexible working. I would have a think about your circumstances (school runs, looking after elderly parents etc) and look at what your company could do practically in terms of your working hours to ease some of these daily burdens without having impact on your output.

If you want to discuss the impact of the Employment Relations Act and how not to get left behind, do get in touch: z.raja@talentometry.co.uk