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Flexible Working

Policy Position

FDF recognises that flexible working can be beneficial for both employers and employees but it feels that the Government’s priorities, particularly in the current difficult economic environment, should be to make the existing system simpler for employers to use and the promotion of good practice rather than introduce further legislation.

Many FDF members already work closely with their workforce in a way that generates the flexibility that they need in their businesses as well as meeting their employees’ desire for greater flexibility and improved work-life balance. FDF believes that the Government should therefore be supporting and encouraging this rather than imposing further administrative burdens on employers.

FDF considers that, if the Government decides to introduce legislation to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, it should support employers by replacing the current inflexible procedure for employers to consider requests for flexible working with a non-binding Code of Practice that is supported by non-prescriptive guidance. The Government must also:-

• ensure that this right remains a right to request and not a right to have flexible working
• retain the current 26 week qualifying period before an employee can make a request for flexible working
• limit the number of requests for flexible working that an employee can make to one in any 12 month period.

FDF also considers that, under the “one in one out” rule, any changes in legislation that are introduced in this area which impose further costs and administrative burdens on employers should be offset by changes in legislation that reduce them.

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Background

The Coalition Agreement that was published in May 2010 stated that the Government was planning to “extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, consulting with business on the best way to do this”. On 16 May 2011, the Government published a consultation document on “Modern Workplaces” which, amongst other things, proposed to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees.

FDF has given a qualified welcome to the Government’s attempt to promote flexible working as set out in the “Modern Workplaces” consultation document as it is seeking to make the existing system simpler for employers to operate. However, FDF is concerned that introducing a universal right to request flexible working will increase the administrative burdens imposed on employers without delivering significantly greater benefits to employers and employees.

The consultation on the “Modern Workplaces” document ended on 8 August 2011 and the Government announced in December 2011 that it would be delaying the publication of its response until early 2012 “due to ongoing discussions within Government”. This probably refers to concerns that some Conservative members of the Government have expressed about some of the proposals in the “Modern Workplaces” consultation document including the proposed extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees.