Flexible working is when an employee is granted more flexibility in how they work. This can be in different ways, such as location, the opportunity to work from home, and being able to choose their working hours. In many ways, flexible working policies allows employees more control over how and when they work; allowing them to strike a better work-life balance. By doing this, organisations can ensure employees and their needs are put first.

Employees have the legal right to ask for flexible working. This is called making a statutory application, and to be eligible, an employee must’ve worked for the business for at least 26 weeks. When it comes to dealing with requests, employers have to do the following:

• All advantages and disadvantages of the application must be assessed in a reasonable manner.
• There has to be a meeting with the employee in question.
• An appeal process needs to be offered to the employee.

An employee can take their employer to an employment tribunal if they don’t believe their request has been handled in a reasonable manner. However, an employer can refuse an application if there’s a good business reason to do so.

Types of flexible working

There are numerous ways in which changes can be made to a traditional work schedule. Here are some of the most common flexible working policies:

• Working from home: when and if a job role permits it, allowing an employee to work digitally helps support their work-life balance. Employees can better manage their work and personal commitments, helping boost wellbeing. It’s become increasingly popular as a result of the pandemic due to organisations having to evolve the way their employees work due to COVID-19 restrictions. Working from home also cuts down on commuting time and costs.
• Remote working: instead of employees travelling to an office, they work from a remote location of their choice. This includes their homes, a coworking spaces, and public places like coffee shops. Remote working increases flexibility, as colleagues can work where they feel most productive. It also helps reduce stress levels.
• Flexitime: also known as flexible working hours, flexitime is an arrangement between employees and their organisations whereby they’re allowed to choose their start and end times. This is in reason, as many businesses have core working hours. Many colleagues benefit from flexitime due to it better suiting their way of working. Some people are early birds, meaning they’re most productive in the morning, and flexitime helps capitalise on this.
• Part-time work: part-time workers can be found in many different sectors, such as retail, customer service, and hospitality. Park-time work is great for people in need of extra income, but have extra responsibilities like family or school commitments. It allows them to network, which aids in developing their career progress.
• Compressed hours: this refers to employees wanting to stick to their full-time contract, but work their hours in fewer days. This can be an extension of a flexitime policy, as well as being specified in a colleague’s contract. An example would be an employee working four days of ten hours.
• Annualised hours: as long as an employee works their yearly number of hours, they can enjoy the flexibility of deciding their own work schedule. For employers, annualised hours can help reduce colleague productivity, sick leave, and turnover rate. The most important thing an employer can do is set clear boundaries by making sure expectations are known.
• Shift work: this is more common in jobs like factory work, where individual employees work in shifts rather than the entire workforce starting at the same time. The staggering of work times helps reduce the risk of burnout.
• Job sharing: some companies allow two colleagues or more to share the same position. All parties work part-time within the same position, and their combined hours make up the workload of a one full-time working. The group of colleagues work in tandem as one unit, rather than holding multiple positions.

Benefits of flexible working for employees

The question is, does flexible working benefit your company? It strongly depends on the type of business you are, as well as the industry you’re in. There are many advantages to offering employees flexible working, such as:

• They’re afforded better opportunity to balance their work life alongside their personal life, improving their overall wellbeing.
• Long commute times not only impact how long it takes for them to get into work, but how they work. A particular busy journey can leave colleagues feeling drained, impacting their productivity for the day. Working from home allows them to avoid commuting.
• Parents, carers, and guardians have more time to look after their dependents without worrying about time constraints.
• By allowing employees to reap the benefits of flexible working, it shows that you trust them. This recognition goes a long way in making a colleague feel valued.
• Holiday days are kept for when they’re needed, rather than used on running errands, appointments, and any other unnecessary scenarios.
• Flexible working helps alleviate pressure on employees. In turn, this helps prevent colleagues from overworking; reducing the risk of burnout.
• Employees save money, as they spend less money childcare and commuting. This helps support their financial wellbeing.

Benefits of flexible working for employers

When employees are happy, they’re at their most productive. Here’s how flexible working can benefit for employers:

• In an increasingly competitive job market, flexible working is a very attractive workplace benefit. In some case, lack of flexibility can make pre-existing employees resign as they feel inconvenienced.
• Flexible working also makes workplaces more accessible. An example would be a single parent is less likely to apply for a role if there’s no flexitime. By offering flexible working, recruiting efforts are broadened.
• Most importantly, flexible working helps improve employee wellbeing by increasing happiness, satisfaction, and productivity. All these factors work in tandem to better improve employee retention. A more engaged workforce equates to a healthy company culture. To recognise hard-working employees, reward them with a gift card. At highstreetvouchers.com, browse our range of gift cards and vouchers that can be spent at some of the high street’s biggest names.