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EXTENSION TO THE RIGHT TO REQUEST FLEXIBLE WORKING

On 15th May 2008, Imelda Walsh published her report to the Government on the right to request flexible working. The report contains findings and conclusions following an independent review into how the right to request flexible working could be extended to parents of older children.

Currently the right to request flexible working is limited to employees with at least 26 weeks service and who are parents of children under 6 years of age, parents of disabled children up to the age of 18 or, since April 2007, carers of adults. Legislation sets out a formal procedure enabling employees to make a request to work flexibly and requiring employers to seriously consider requests made. Having considered the request the employer may grant the right to work flexibly resulting in a change to the employee’s terms and conditions of employment, or reject the request on one of 8 permissible grounds.

Imelda Walsh has recommended that the right to request flexible working be extended to employees with parental responsibility for children up to the age of 16. This will mean that an additional 4.5 million people will acquire the right. It is also recommended that the right be introduced in full rather than phased in over time. Having accepted this recommendation the Government will shortly carry out consultation regarding its implementation.

In our experience employers have a positive approach to flexible working and find they benefit from it in terms of retention, employee satisfaction and productivity. Many employers already consider requests from a wider range of employees than they are obliged to under the current legislation. Further, employers are, where ever possible, granting flexible working rights without great difficulty. For many then the extension of the right will not be unmanageable, will not require any great organisational changes or give rise to a significant cost burden. Employers who are concerned that the extension of the right would create more requests than they can grant will be comforted by the fact that the employee’s right will continue to be limited to the right to make a request to work flexibly and the employer will continue to have grounds for refusing the request if it can not be accommodated for one of the reasons specified in the legislation.

Employers who do not already have extended policies will, in due course, be advised to review their policies and practises to ensure compliance with the extended rights.

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ACAS PRODUCES DRAFT CODE OF PRACTICE FOR WORKPLACE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

ACAS have produced a draft revised version of their code of practice on discipline and grievance procedures for public consultation. The publication is part of the overhaul of statutory dispute resolution procedures following Michael Gibbons’ review of the current unpopular procedures, the subsequent public consultation and the Government’s decision to repeal the existing procedures through the Employment Bill.

The purpose of the revised code is to simplify the grievance and disciplinary procedures. To this end the code has been written with the intention of it being shorter, more flexible, more principles based and including more basic practical guidance for all parties to workplace disputes. As is currently the case, an employer’s failure to follow the code will be considered by the Employment Tribunal in the event of a claim.

The revised code should not be a shock to employers who currently follow best practise as it contains many principles and procedures that they will already be very familiar with. Such principles and procedures that the code requires employers to apply include promptness, consistency, proper investigation, impartial decision making, fully informing the employee, allowing the employee to state their case, the right to be accompanied, making appropriate decisions and the right to appeal.

Both the revised disciplinary and dismissal procedures and the ACAS code of practice are expected to come into effect in April 2009 and ACAS will be producing further comprehensive guidance on handling workplace disputes at that time. The period of public consultation in respect of ACAS’s draft code continues until 25th July 2008.

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