Is flexible working an easy thing to incorporate in a business?

The cost of childcare has soared since the pandemic, and fewer grandparents are retired and able to look after their grandchildren (should they even want to in the first place); this makes it difficult for working parents to earn a decent wage once childcare costs come into play. Being able to ask for part-time hours or staggering work start/end times can help parents juggle their work around school hours and each other—reducing the need for nurseries, childminders or before/after school clubs.

Alice Thompson’s recent court case shows that some companies fail to even consider flexible working, despite there being no real reason not to do so. Alice asked her employer for flexible hours in the form of shorter working days and a four-day week, so that she could pick her daughter up from nursery and not have to resort to further childcare options to cover her working hours. Her request wasn’t just rejected; the estate agency she worked for wouldn’t even think about it. Their apathy resulted in Alice winning £185,000 from the company at an employment tribunal.

According to an interview with Alice by BBC News, her manager said they couldn't afford for her to work part time. She says, ‘I made a request for flexible working that wasn't seriously considered. I proposed what would have worked for me. If that didn't work for the company, I would have been more than happy to hear a counter offer, i.e. what might work for them. If they needed me for the full hours—maybe eight 'til five instead of nine 'til six—that's something I could have worked around. But the conversation was shut down—every avenue, not listened to, not considered. And I was left with no other option but to resign.’ She adds, ‘How are mums meant to have careers and families? It's 2021 not 1971.’

Employers will still be able to refuse flexible working requests under the new laws, but they will have to show that their employee’s suggestions are unworkable and that they would have a detrimental impact on the business; they will also be required to come up with a workable alternative. Though the latter isn’t enforceable by law as such, the company could find itself on shaky ground and out of pocket if their employee took them to a tribunal—like Alice did, above. The new ruling will also insist on quicker decisions by employers; the previous grace period to consider flexible working requests was three months, but what this has been reduced to isn’t yet clear.