Employers in Yorkshire will receive an influx of requests from parents demanding flexible working rights from Monday 6 April 2009, predict leading Sheffield solicitors Wake Smith, as parents of children as old as 16 will be given the right to request flexible working patterns from their employers.
Currently, only parents of children under 6 years old, as well as carers of the disabled, have the right to request flexible working to help them raise their families - an estimated 3.6 million employees. However, the new rules will extend the right to all those with children up to the age of 16 - an extra 4.5 million parents.
Critics have claimed that small businesses will struggle to cope with so many more workers changing their hours. It is estimated that the cost of the extended rights to businesses will be £50 million.
Under the rules, it is up to parents to tell their employer why they want to change their working hours, leading to a discussion about the practicality of their move, within 28 days.
Glenn Jaques partner in the Employment team at Wake Smith & Tofields said: "Employers are allowed eight grounds on which they can refuse a request, for instance if they believe it will cost too much, reduce the company's performance, lead to the worker not putting in enough hours, or if they could not recruit extra staff.
"Parents can then appeal the decision if their request is not granted. If the parent considers that an employer has failed to deal with the request, or their request has been rejected on the basis of incorrect facts, he or she may bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal. It is therefore worthwhile taking legal advice when a request for flexible working is received, in order to avoid an expensive Employment Tribunal claim."
The Government claims that 91% of all flexible working requests are agreed by employers. However, the proposed amendments to the current legislation are likely to cause all employers genuine concern, and result in the incorporation of innovative work patterns in the workplace to manage such requests.
Glenn Jaques added: "Employers will need to consider whether earlier starting or later finishing hours may be possible, or whether employees' hours could be spread over more days than previously. Job sharing, home working or staggered or compressed hours might be an option. Furthermore, whether or not any request is permanent should be considered as a parent may only require a change to their hours for a fixed period of time.
"If managed correctly, however, any change to flexible hours can work to the benefit of both the employer and employee. Flexibility towards working parents can promote loyalty, encourage productivity, and help to prevent a high turnover of staff. Parents can feel a sense of security in having an adaptable employer, and are confident that they will be able to continue work around the needs of their family."
The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has claimed that the move to extend flexible working rights will not damage the economy:
"Flexible working is the right to request flexible working; it is not an automatic right to flexible working. The right to request flexible working has been working for lots of people over the last few years. It is working for parents of young children and it now applies to children under 16 where families need time off to help bring them up."
For further information please contact Mark Serby at [email protected] or on 01142666660.
