What are your flexible working responsibilities as an employer?

Flexible Working Awareness Day was created in 2023 to highlight the importance of flexible working. Each year it takes place on 21 June, with employers, employees and policymakers encouraged to “champion workplace flexibility as a pathway to improved wellbeing, inclusion and productivity”.

The organisers promote Flexible Working Awareness Day as the perfect opportunity to educate as many people as possible about the benefits of flexible working, raise awareness of different flexible working arrangements, and encourage best practice among employers.

There are 5.8m unpaid carers in the UK, with 1.7m providing 50 or more hours of care a week, whether to a spouse, partner, parent, child or other relative (source: CarersUK).

Most need take on care duties after they reach 45, when they’re in the prime of their careers. It affects more women than men, impacting their pay and career progression. Being a carer can be very tough, especially when you also have a full-time job, which is why flexible working can make a huge difference, by enabling people to better balance demanding work and family commitments. Flexible working helps others, too.

• The UK has some 8.2m families with dependent children, with 75% of mothers and 92% of fathers in employment (source: ONS).
• Many people with disabilities also rely on flexible working arrangements, because traditional, rigid work patterns and locations often create barriers.
• Flexible working can make employment more sustainable and equitable for many members of the workforce. Without it, many people simply would not be able to work to support themselves and their families.

Did you know? CIPD research suggests that many employees below the age of 34 are more likely to leave jobs that don’t offer flexible working.

Flexibility in working hours can mean flexitime (ie where employees choose their start and finish times within set limits), compressed hours (ie working full‑time hours over fewer days), annualised hours (ie set number of hours per year, rather than per week), part‑time hours and term‑time only working for parents (ie off during school holidays).

As regards work location, hybrid working (ie split between home and workplace) is a type of flexible working that’s become much more common. Many employees now work from home all or most of the time, while others occasionally work from home by agreement with their manager, for example, when a child is off school ill.

 
Flexibility can apply to role design, too, for example, job sharing, phased retirement (ie gradually reducing hours as someone approaches retirement), career breaks and sabbaticals. Informal flexibility can also enable team members to balance the demands of their family and work. This could be as simple as adjusting someone’s hours so they can fit in the school run.

Did you know? According to CIPD research, 91% of UK employers offer flexible working, the most common being working from home/remotely (58%), part-time hours (55%) and informal flexibility (43%).

Having to continually juggle family and work commitments can be stressful and exhausting. Being allowed to work more flexibly can make a big difference to someone’s health and ability to fully focus, which can make them more productive. 

People who work more flexibly can be much less stressed and more motivated and productive. Moreover, flexible working can reduce employee burnout and absenteeism, with happier, healthier team members taking fewer sick days. 

With many employees looking for flexibility in their jobs, being a flexible-friendly employer can also help you to recruit the best talent from a wider talent pool – and retain good people – which can help to minimise your recruitment and training costs.

And there can be other cost savings, too. Remote or hybrid working can reduce your premises requirements, utility bills and travel costs. Needing a smaller employee footprint can save a business thousands of pounds a year. However, there are challenges, too, including coordinating people’s remote work, communicating and connecting with them, performance visibility and ensuring a cohesive culture within your business. There can also be challenges linked to health and safety and online security. 

Did you know? The UK Government’s official impact assessment for the Flexible Working Reforms (2024) found that almost 40% of organisations said home or hybrid working had increased their productivity or efficiency. Only 13% reported a decrease.

• All UK employees have the legal right to request flexible working (it’s called “making a statutory application”). They can do this from their first day in a job and make two applications within each 12-month period.
• Employers must deal with requests reasonably and follow a fair and transparent process when assessing flexible-working applications. Otherwise an employee can take their employer to tribunal.
• Employers must give their final decision within two months of receiving a statutory application (unless a longer period is agreed by both parties).
• You can turn down an application if you have a justifiable business reason. This could be additional costs created; negative impact on quality or performance; insufficient work in requested new working times; inability to arrange cover, etc. Some job just cannot be done remotely.
• If you turn down a request, you must explain your justifiable business reasons. You should suggest alternatives where possible, while offering employees the opportunity to appeal.
• Trialling new flexible working arrangements, rather than formally accepting and introducing them with no trial, is highly recommended.
• If a new flexible working arrangement is causing issues, discuss them straight away at a review meeting with the employee. If possible, explore adjustments.
• When a flexible working request is approved, the new pattern becomes a permanent contractual change unless both sides agreed it was temporary. An employer cannot unilaterally go back to the old working pattern without the employee’s agreement.
• If the arrangement was temporary, informal or a trial, the employer can change or end it more easily, but they still must act reasonably and discuss it with the employee.
• Under UK health and safety law, you must protect your employees’ physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing even when their home is their workplace. As the employer, you are required to identify, assess and manage risks associated with home working.
• For more guidance visit government website GOV.UK or the Acas website. 

 
Flexible working isn’t a concession or a perk. When people can work in ways that enable them to better balance their work and family commitments, they can be much better placed to contribute greater energy, creativity, productivity and value. If well managed, employers can unlock a range of practical benefits. Flexible working can be a classic win-win, a truly great thing for businesses and their most valuable asset – their people.