This term is used to describe all kinds of employment which differ from the traditional 9.00 am - 5.00 pm full time job. There is a statutory right for parents with children under 17 or disabled children aged under 18, or carers, to formally request flexible working under the Flexible Working Regulations 2001. Employers must follow a set procedure when responding to such requests.
It is highly likely now that Age Discrimination legislation has come in, that there will be pressure for older workers to also be able to formally request flexible working as they wind down to retirement or continue working after their normal retirement date. We will wait with baited breath to see if this happens.
In our view at Jaluch, flexible working is a great thing, however there are too many employees seeking to bully their employers into agreeing flexible working. By threatening claims at tribunal or sex discrimination, managers sometimes feel besieged and can agree to flexible working arrangements that just are not viable on an ongoing basis. There are also significant numbers of managers who say no to any request, irrespective of whether they have fully thought through the request. Change is never easy and this is one area of law where the boundaries of accepted practice and ways of working are being seriously pushed back to the significant discomfort of many directors and senior managers.
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