Flexible working - the new default position for all? Key roundtable takeaways

Author: Sheila Attwood

While many employers acknowledge that flexible working already is the new default way of working, in line with the Government's ambitions for the modern workforce, creating arrangements that meet the needs of both businesses and employees remains a challenge.

A recent Brightmine roundtable hosted with HR Grapevine brought together senior HR professionals from organisations across the economy to discuss practices around flexible working. The aim of the session was to enable the group to collectively work through the specific challenges they are experiencing in this area.

The starting points for our event were the April 2024 introduction of the day-one right to request flexible working, and the Employment Rights Bill's creation in effect of a "reasonableness" test when it comes to rejecting a request. However, it was interesting to note that these legislative developments are not the main drivers of change and that many employers said they are still working through working arrangements that emerged as a result of COVID. When it comes to the Employment Rights Bill, participants said they are waiting to see the outcomes of the first associated employment tribunal cases and that they broadly regard the changes as helpful in bringing clarity to the existing situation.

Since our discussion, the Government has announced that the Employment Rights Bill provisions around flexible working are expected to be introduced in 2027, following a consultation on the reforms that will take place this winter/in early 2026.

Going round the room to quickly understand some of the situations the participant organisations are experiencing around flexible working, we heard the following:

• Tracking office attendance, and mandates to return to the office more, often led to an increase in flexible working requests.
• An ageing workforce means that flexible working requests often cite a need to help with grandchild caring responsibilities. Mental health was also often mentioned in the detail of requests.
• Good/great workplace perks don't necessarily encourage people into the office.
• There has been a lot of requests to work compressed hours.
• Businesses are struggling with consistency of approach - between previous and new flexible working requests, and between line managers.

All participants had seen a significant increase in the number of flexible working requests, leading to some of the situations described above. But one organisation's challenge lay where another had made progress, making the sharing of practice highly valuable. Here are some key takeaways from the discussion.

1. Flexible working requests

• Consider who should deal with flexible working requests to ensure consistency in approach - a number of organisations now specify that they should be submitted to HR rather than individual line managers.
• Consider who makes the final decision on flexible working requests - it could be a senior HR professional who overseas them all; or line managers, following coaching from HR.
• Whichever option you choose, ensure there is a very clear flexible working policy and decision matrix for flexible working requests.

2. Measuring performance and productivity

• Understand how your organisation measures performance, particularly of those employees who work some/all of the time remotely.
• Think about whether "getting more done" is an effective measure of performance/productivity, or whether there are measures of company behaviours and performance that are equally important to you as an employer. For example, this might include the need for new employees to be around/trained by others in person.
• Coach managers to be able to manage remote-working employees effectively.

3. Involving the occupational health team

• Refer the individual to the occupational health team if they are citing a health reason for their flexible working request.
• Work with the occupational health team to determine what workplace attendance would be reasonable for the individual.
• Think carefully about the questions put to the occupational health team. For example, you might ask: "To facilitate the employee to work in the office, what accommodations do we need to make?"
• Bear in mind that the occupational health team will provide recommendations; the final decision does not have to follow these exactly.

4. Trial periods

• Make use of a three-month trial period.
• Include a 12-month review - only after which is the contractual change made to working arrangements.
• During a trial and/or review period, ensure evidence is gathered and recorded throughout, so it can be presented as evidence when a final decision is made.