How flexible are you?

16/04/2024

You may not be aware but new laws came into effect from 6th April 2024 as part of the Employment Rights (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which gives employees more opportunities to request flexible working conditions. Previously, employees had to have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks before making a flexible working application, but now they are permitted to request flexible working from their employer from day one of their employment.

Another change is that employees will now be able to make two flexible working requests every 12 months (previously limited to 1), and employers will be required to make decisions on these requests within 2 months (previously 3 months), though this can be extended if the employee agrees. For more information and advice on this subject visit https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working and www.acas.org.uk/flexible-working

It wasn’t long ago that “working from home” was perceived by many as unprofessional, but now it’s perfectly acceptable if the cat meows or a delivery driver knocks on the door during a Teams call. It’s amazing how fast the world of work has changed – one of the few things we can perhaps be thankful to Covid for is that millions of people now benefit from a significantly improved work life balance.