The world of work has evolved a lot over the last couple of decades and there is now a greater demand for flexible working arrangements. The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, had a huge impact on increasing working from home and hybrid working opportunities. Furthermore, technological advances have allowed a different approach to work.
Previously, many organisations dragged their heels on flexibility, fearing a loss of control over the quality and quantity of work The pandemic forced them into flexible working arrangements, but despite this, most businesses now concede that employees performed well without the usual high level of supervision.
In the past, flexible working was only offered to working parents, new parents or those with caring responsibilities. But now, apart from simply complying with the legislation, more businesses are acknowledging the benefits of having a flexible workforce with working arrangements that cater to the needs of all employees. Research from the British Chambers of Commerce’s (CCB) Insight Unit indicates that 76 per cent of businesses questioned now offer flexible working to their employees.
In this article, we outline the most popular types of flexible working arrangements, look at the legal position and consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of flexible working.
What is a Flexible Workforce?
A business with a flexible workforce employs staff who are not bound to a strict 9-5 routine. Instead, they may work remotely, choose their own hours or work on a project-based or contractual basis. A flexible workforce could also incorporate freelancers, temporary employees and contractors.
The most common flexible working arrangement is part-time work. However, job-sharing, flexitime and working from home/hybrid working are also increasingly popular options. Employees may request to change their working pattern for several reasons, such as childcare arrangements, other caring duties, a better work-life balance or more time to spend on their personal interests.
Different Flexible Work Arrangements
There are many options when it comes to offering your staff workplace flexibility. We list the most common examples of flexible working below:
Part-Time Work
Part-time work is where your employee works less than full-time hours, either by cutting down their working hours during the day or working fewer days.
This option offers flexibility and time for other commitments and interests, making it perfect for students and working parents. It also provides the opportunity to obtain experience in a new industry or gradually shift into full-time work.
Remote Working
Remote working arrangements have become popular, especially since the pandemic. It allows your employees to work from other places instead of their normal workplace. This could be from home and any agreed place where they can work remotely. Hybrid working, which combines remote working and working in an office environment, is also widely used by employers.
Remote working has many benefits, including cost savings, reduced commute time and increased flexibility to manage home commitments and appointments. However, it may not be appropriate for all job types and staff should be made aware that they are still required to maintain professionalism and to work to the same deadlines as any other working arrangement.
Job Sharing
Job sharing involves two employees employed on a reduced-time or part-time basis sharing a full-time position. Under this arrangement, both employees have equal responsibilities and accountability for the role’s success.
While this type of work can sometimes be challenging to manage, it is advantageous to the employees, allowing them to handle key tasks and keep their job title while moving to a more attractive work schedule.
Flexible Working Hours
Flexible working hours (or flexitime) enable employees to modify their working hours to create their own work schedule and accommodate personal errands and commitments outside work. For example, they may choose to adjust their start and finish times to avoid busy commute times or to work around childcare.
Compressed Hours
Compressed hours is a flexible work arrangement, giving employees the chance to work the same number of hours, but over fewer days. For example, a full-time employee may choose to work longer hours on four days, such as 8-6 but then take Fridays off.
This arrangement gives workers allows to enjoy an extra day off and have more flexibility to pursue their interests, studies and other commitments.
Flexible Staffing
To create a more flexible workforce, some companies opt to use independent contractors and temporary staff instead of hiring permanent employees.
The advantage of this approach is that it can save you money on operations costs since you are only paying for the talent when you need it.
What Sectors may Benefit from Flexible Contracts?
Every type of flexible working arrangement may not necessarily suit every business or every employee. For example, in the food and drink manufacturing sector, shift patterns mean that staff are obliged to work certain hours doing specific jobs to ensure that production targets are met. Similarly, flexibility may be harder to achieve in consumer-facing sectors such as retail and hospitality than companies in business-to-business sectors such as legal, finance, technology, marketing and media, which lend themselves more naturally to options such as working from home or flexitime.
Nevertheless, an increase in access to different forms of flexibility, such as different start and finish times, the ability to swap shifts etc will help all businesses offer better options to their employees, regardless of their job role or the sector they work in.
The Legal Position
Employees do not have a right to a flexible working arrangement under the current employment legislation; however, they do have a right to request it.
As of April 2024, UK employees have the statutory right to request flexible working arrangements and to have that request seriously considered from the first day of a new job. In the past, an individual needed to have worked for their employer for 26 weeks or more before they could make a request.
This right applies to all employees – not just those with families or caring responsibilities. Employees can ask for changes to hours, times and location of work for any reason but no longer have to explain how the arrangement will work.
While employers can refuse that request for one of the eight specified business-related reasons listed below, they must consult with the employee and deal with requests in a reasonable manner.
The statutory grounds for refusing a request are as follows:
- the burden of additional costs
- it isn’t possible to reorganise work amongst other staff
- there will be a negative effect on the ability to meet customer demand
- it isn’t possible to recruit additional staff
- there will be a negative impact on quality
- there will be a negative impact on performance
- there is not enough work for your employees to do during the periods they propose to work
- there are planned changes or a reorganisation of the business.
Consequently, you can’t refuse a flexible working request simply because management doesn’t like employees working from home or part-time or because it doesn’t fit into your work culture.
It is not sufficient to simply assert that a statutory ground exists. Instead, employers should provide sufficient explanation to the employee as to which ground applies and why it has led to the request being turned down.
More information on making and handling statutory requests for flexible working can be found in the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working.
Why Should an SME Offer Flexible Working?
As well as the need to comply with the legislation, there are several good reasons why SMEs are increasingly likely to offer employees one or more flexible working options. The main ones are as follows:
- it saves on costs. If staff can work from home, a business can make substantial overhead savings, such as rent, utilities and cleaning services if it doesn’t have to provide an office. It also saves staff money if they do not have to commute to work every day.
- it helps with recruitment and staff retention. Flexible working is a higher priority for employees and to attract and keep top talent, offering flexible working arrangements is beneficial and can give you an edge over competing companies who don’t offer flexible jobs. According to research conducted by the CIPD, when thinking about a new role, 71% of people say being able to work flexibly is important to them. There is also evidence that flexible working leads to higher job satisfaction and improved staff morale.
- it reflects the changing profile of the UK workforce and encourages diversity. Offering flexible opportunities with fewer geographical limits also opens you up to a global labour market, allowing you to tap into a larger talent pool.
- it promotes a healthy work-life balance. Without the strict 9-5 office environment, employees have the freedom to allocate time to their physical and mental well-being, thus reducing the risk of burnout.
- developments in technology have meant that it is now much easier and less costly for employees to communicate digitally with colleagues.
- flexible working allows businesses to meet the increasing need to deliver services to customers on a 24/7 basis.
- offering part-time working or career breaks is a useful method to avoid or minimise redundancies
Disadvantages of Flexible Working
On the other hand, it is not always straightforward or even appropriate to introduce flexible working. Some of the concerns that businesses often raise about flexible working are:
- there is a lot of additional administrative work and red tape involved in setting up and running flexible working
- it could potentially lead to security and data breaches if an employee is working on a public Wi-Fi.
- lower productivity from employees, particularly in terms of working from home, because there are more distractions at home, whether it is the needs of children or temptations of television and social media.
- it makes communication more difficult, with different employees working in different locations and hours, meaning it is challenging to bring people together for meetings
- it also makes it harder for junior staff in the organisation to learn from their more experienced colleagues if they aren’t physically present in the office or working different hours.
- particularly in relation to smaller companies, it may not be possible to substitute for certain skills if specific employees are absent
Legal and Practical Considerations
Some of the drawbacks to flexible working can be mitigated by good planning, ensuring that you have a clear flexible working policy in place and that expectations have been communicated to all staff.
Businesses will also need to address some practical and legal considerations when entering into flexible working arrangements with staff. These include:
- setting up clear processes in place for managing flexible working requests
- considering whether a contract change is needed to reflect a new working practice
- putting in the time to ensure everyone is clear on what you expect and that boundaries are set so that work is not taking second place to other activities during working hours
- considering the use of trial periods of a new flexible working arrangement
- being aware that you are still responsible for the health, safety and welfare of employees even if they are working remotely. Employers will need to work with staff to ensure they have a suitable and safe working environment.
For more information about flexible working arrangements, implementing a flexible work policy or responding to a flexible working request, contact our experienced employment team on 0300 303 2071 or email us.
