The Government is
committed to helping working parents.
From 6 April 2003, parents of children
aged under six or of disabled children
aged under 18 will have the right to
apply to work flexibly. Employers will
have a statutory duty to consider their
applications seriously.
At the same time, the
Government will be increasing and
extending maternity leave and pay and
introducing new rights to paid adoption
and paternity leave. These new rights,
together with existing rights to
parental leave and time off for
dependants, will provide parents with
more opportunities than ever before to
balance work and family life, whilst
being compatible with, and beneficial
to, business efficiency.
This document
provides basic information on the new
right to apply for flexible working. It
does not attempt to describe the detail,
and should not be taken as an
authoritative statement of the law.
This new right will
enable mothers and fathers to request to
work flexibly. It will not provide an
automatic right to work flexibly as
there will always be circumstances when
the employer is unable to accommodate
the employee’s desired work pattern. The
right is designed to meet the needs of
both parents and employers, especially
small employers.
It aims to facilitate
discussion and encourage both the
employee and the employer to consider
flexible working patterns and to find a
solution that suits them both. The
employee has a responsibility to think
carefully about their desired working
pattern when making an application, and
the employer is required to follow a
specific procedure to ensure requests
are considered seriously.
Eligibility
In order to make a
request under the new right an
individual will:
-
be an employee
-
have a child
under six, or under 18 in the case
of a disabled child
-
have worked with
their employer continuously for 26
weeks at the date the application is
made
-
make the
application no later than two weeks
before the child’s sixth birthday or
18th birthday in the case of a
disabled child
-
have or expect to
have responsibility for the child’s
upbringing
-
be making the
application to enable them to care
for the child
-
not be an agency
worker
-
not be a member
of the armed forces
-
not have made
another application to work flexibly
under the right during the past 12
months.
Scope of a request
Eligible employees
will be able to request:
Applications for a
change in working pattern will not
always require a significant alteration.
For example, a parent may simply wish to
start work half an hour later to take
their child to school and make up the
time later in the day.
The procedure
In summary, the
procedure will be as follows:
-
The initial onus
will be on the employee to make a
considered application in writing.
They will be able to make only one
application a year under the right,
and an accepted application will
mean a permanent change to the
employee’s own terms and conditions
of employment. It will be important
therefore that, before making an
application, the employee gives
careful consideration to which
working pattern will help them best
care for their child; any financial
implications it might have on them
in cases where the desired working
pattern will involve a drop in
salary; and any effects it will have
on their employer’s business and how
these might be accommodated.
-
Within 28 days
the employer will arrange to meet
with the employee. This will provide
the employer and the employee with
the opportunity to explore the
desired work pattern in depth, and
to discuss how best it might be
accommodated. It will also provide
an opportunity to consider other
alternative working patterns should
there be problems in accommodating
the desired work pattern outlined in
the employee’s application. The
employee will, if they so wish, be
able to bring a companion to the
meeting.
-
Within 14 days
after the date of the meeting the
employer will write to the employee
to either agree to a new work
pattern and a start date; or to
provide a clear business ground(s)
as to why the application cannot be
accepted and the reasons why the
ground(s) applies in the
circumstances. The procedure will
also provide for occasions when the
employer will want to take further
action before notifying the employee
with their final decision.
The procedure
provides an employee with the right to
appeal their employer’s decision within
14 days of it being notified to them.
The appeal process is designed to be in
keeping with the overall aim of the
right of encouraging both parties to
reach a satisfactory outcome at the
workplace.
In a minority of
cases some employees will have grounds
to pursue their request with third party
involvement. This may be by referring
their request to ACAS, to an employment
tribunal, or by using another form of
dispute resolution. An employee will
only be able to take their claim to an
employment tribunal in specific
circumstances. In such cases, the
employer will have to demonstrate to the
tribunal that they have followed the
procedure correctly.
The new law providing
parents of young or disabled children
with the right to request a flexible
working pattern will be in addition to,
and will apply completely independently
from, other legislation such as sex,
disability, or race legislation.
The Interactive
Law Group