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What is flexible working?
Flexible working applies to any working pattern that doesn’t fit the traditional 9am-5pm model. It pretty much describes the way most of us work today, as just a third of employers stick to the old-style working day.
As we strive to strike a better work:life balance, more of us are seeking to work alternative hours, in alternative locations and in alternative ways .
Anyone can ask their employer for flexible work arrangements, but in 2003 the Government introduced a statutory right for almost all employees who have a child under six or a disabled child under 18 to request different working patterns. Under the law, employers must seriously consider any application, but they don’t have to agree if there’s a good business reason not to.
The good news, however, is that employers are ever more likely to agree to different ways of working as the business case for doing so starts to stack up. Happier employees mean increased productivity, which means better profits and less staff turnover.
Below we take a look at the various options for working hours:
- Part-time work– the most common form of alternative hours; normally referring to half day shifts. This is a popular option for women returning to work after pregnancy, while others are using it to pursue other interests or study for higher qualifications. To cover a full time position, job sharing between two part-time employees is often incorporated.
- Flexitime– this is an increasingly popular option that provides workers some control over their hours, particularly start and finish times.
- Annualised hours– originally used by industries of a seasonal nature, annualised hours schemes now help other employers to deal with fluctuating workloads by stipulating a set number of hours per year an employee will be required to work.
- Zero-hours contracts– these guarantee workers no work at all, but require them to be ‘on call’ when required. This method is often found in nursing or supply teaching.
- Term-time working– allowing workers to have time off during school holidays.
- Compressed hours– the working week is restructured so that the same number of hours can be worked in fewer days. For example, workers could do four ten-hour days instead of five eight-hour days and gain a day off a week.
- V-time working– this is a voluntary arrangement that reduces an employee’s hours for an agreed period, with a guarantee that full-time employment will be resumed at a specific date.
Flexible working also covers where you work, with some of the alternative locations including:
- Hot-desking– workers are allocated the use of a desk as and when they are in the office. Driven by the increasingly high cost of urban office space, hot-desking denies workers a personal space and regular interaction with colleagues, which some find difficult.
- Working from home– it’s an increasingly popular option for those looking to avoid the daily commute, but requires discipline, organisation and motivation from the employee, and trust from the employer.
- Mobile working– mobile workers spend most of their time in locations other than their employer’s offices. Heavily dependent on laptops and mobile phones, mobile workers can spend long periods travelling and away from home.
There are as many reasons for taking on flexible working as there are ways to do it. Some of the other options include study leave, job-swaps or sabbaticals, where you’re offered an unpaid period away from work with the promise of your job back when you return.
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