Flexibility and Family Leave
Further changes in family leave legislation and the right to request flexible working are due to come in to full effect from 6th April 2007. These changes are putting further pressure on organisations to put flexible working practices in place. The term 'flexible working' tends to cover both working time and location as well as different leave arrangements, and ranges from common or long-established practices, such as part-time working and flexitime, to more unusual ones, including compressed working weeks, sabbaticals and career breaks.
The changes:
1. An extension of statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance and statutory adoption pay from six to nine months.
2. Additional maternity leave for all working mothers regardless of length of service
3. Arrangements for employers and employees to keep in contact during the leave period
4. The right to request flexible working extended to 'carers', including employees caring for adults who are spouses, civil partners or partners; near relatives or dependent adults living at the same address as the employee.
The good news is that, according to recent research by the CIPD (the Chartered Institiute of Personnel and Development), employees who work flexibly tend to be more emotionally engaged, more satisfied with work, more likely to speak positively about their organisation and less likely to quit. This research supports that conducted by the IRS after the last wave of family friendly legislation in 2003, indicating that offering flexible working rights had a direct impact on the organisation's recruitment, retention and absence. Rebecca Clarke from the CIPD provides 6 top tips to unlocking the potential of flexible working for the business and employees.
1. Understand your business: Whilst the legislation dictates how requests for flexible working are dealt with and to whom such rights extend, it does not set any parameters on what is or is not considered acceptable. What works for one person, department or organisation will not necessarily work for another. Consider what will work for the different areas of your organisation, and keep an open mind.
2. Communicate effectively: A clear written policy goes a long way to ironing out all the concerns around flexible working, but it must be communicated to all employees so that they are aware of their rights, know the procedures and understand how their applications will be dealt with.
3. Define roles and responsibilities: Leadership has an important role to play in selling the benefits of flexible working to managers and employees, whilst ensuring consistent and fair application throughout the organisation. Flexibility works best for everyone where there is give and take on both sides.
4. Try it out: Piloting flexible working using small groups in the business, or building in a trial period to an individual's request, allows you to evaluate the experience with the employee(s), ensuring buy-in from all parties and the opportunity to find a pattern that works.
5. Make flexible working acceptable: A comprehensive policy is brought to life when it is openly communicated and seen to being brought in across departments and level of employee. If flexi-working is openly talked about employees will understand each others' needs and reasons for their 'different' working patterns. Creative solutions including variable starting/finishing times, temporary reduction of hours, home working etc will show support for differing individual needs, supporting diversity.
6. Measure and evaluate: "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it". Monitoring the take-up of flexible working, the patterns requested, rejected and accepted, as well as the effect on the business and individual, will be the cornerstone in ensuring flexible working benefits everyone.
For more information on preparing for the upcoming legislation and how to make flexible working successful in your organisation, contact Hannah on 01404 42359.
January 2007
