Flexible and hybrid working
Key points
- The right to request flexible working is available to employees with a minimum of 26 weeks' continuous service with the employer.
- No qualifying period of employment is required for claiming unfair dismissal where an employee has been dismissed for making a request for flexible working.
- The right to request flexible working applies to both full-time and part-time employees.
- If a request for flexible working is refused, the employee must make any claims to an employment tribunal within three months of the 'relevant date'.
- Hybrid working is a particular kind of flexible working that combines the benefit of being both in the workplace, and at home.
- Organisations that are a 'good fit' for hybrid working can see benefits in the wellbeing, engagement, and motivation of their employees, as well as in productivity.
- Guidance from Acas and the CIPD on hybrid working helps employers to transition into this way of working, and highlights the important considerations to make.
See our 'Hybrid working toolkit' for information and tools from around the site.
Recent developments
The Government response to consultation on extending the scope of flexible working legislation is expected, now that consultation on the subject was closed on 1 December 2021.
The consultation, "Making Flexible Working The Default", considered amongst other things, removing the current 26 week service eligibility criterion, meaning that employees will be able to request flexible working from day one of employment.
Read more on this in the In Depth section.
Hybrid working has becoming an increasing part of everyday life post-covid, as employers look to use the lessons learned from the pandemic and how they might make organising work better. Hybrid working is simply an alternative way of working, combining multiple locations (often, home and the office).
Requests for hybrid working should be dealt with in the same way as requests for any other kind of alternative working pattern, such as part time working, and the flexible working process should be utilised.
We have brought together our relevant resources on hybrid working in our 'Hybrid working toolkit'.
A pilot scheme of a four day working week, involving over 60 UK companies, began at the start of June 2022, and is expected to continue to December 2022.
Employers participating in this trial will continue to pay their staff in full, despite more than 3,000 workers (across the companies participating) only working 80% of their usual hours. The catch is: they must maintain 100% productivity.
This pilot is running alongside similar trials in Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel, all coordinated by 4 Day Week Global, in partnership with researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College.
Log in or Subscribe Now
To view all content on this page, you can log in or Subscribe now
Log in or Subscribe Now
To view all content on this page, you can log in or Subscribe now
Log in or Subscribe Now
To view all content on this page, you can log in or Subscribe now