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Flexible working

Stephen SimpsonEditor's message: Providing opportunities for employees for homeworking and flexibility on hours may be advantageous for employers in terms of reducing the need for workspace and increasing productivity. Giving staff greater control over their work-life balance can also have a positive impact on their general health and wellbeing.

Based on their experiences and business needs, employers may consider a full or partial switch to homeworking for staff (which can be introduced under a hybrid working scheme) and flexible arrangements such as compressed hours (full-time hours over fewer days), annualised hours (fixed number of annual hours with core hours), job sharing and changes to start and finish times (flexitime). Agile working, a term used to describe a method of adaptable working that can respond quickly to business need, can include flexible working arrangements.

Employers should adopt a fair and consistent approach for flexible working for their workforce that avoids a potential discrimination claim. A permanent change to working hours or location will require a variation to employment contracts.

Stephen Simpson, principal HR strategy and practice editor

New and updated

  • Date:
    6 December 2024
    Type:
    Commentary and insights

    Employment Rights Bill: 10 key policies employers must revamp

    The Employment Rights Bill packs 28 imposing employment law reforms into its 158 pages. While HR professionals await the substantive details needed to flesh out the Bill, we outline the key policies that you will need to update and an overview of what those updates might involve.

  • Type:
    Editor's choice

    Coming soon

    Updated to include details of our upcoming webinar, which will include 2025 pay and benefits reviews, and our regular update of the economy, labour market and pay-setting environment. 

  • Date:
    15 November 2024
    Type:
    Survey analysis

    Flexible working research 2024: not without its challenges

    While the majority of organisations surveyed by Brightmine offer employees the possibility of flexible work, there are disparities in the working arrangements and the challenges faced by organisations, particularly around hybrid working and perceived fairness.

  • Date:
    24 October 2024
    Type:
    Podcasts and webinars

    Webinar: Employment Rights Bill - how HR can get ahead of the changes

    In this webinar, Brightmine legal editors Stephen Simpson and Zeba Sayed explain what the changes are going to be, what employers can do now to begin preparing and the potential timelines for implementation.

  • Date:
    18 October 2024
    Type:
    Survey analysis

    Employment Rights Bill research 2024

    The first draft of the Employment Rights Bill was published on 10 October - just ahead of 100 days into the new Labour Government. We take an early look at how HR is reacting to the changes included in the Bill.

  • Date:
    11 October 2024
    Type:
    Commentary and insights

    Employment Rights Bill published: 10 highlights for HR from the first draft

    After months of waiting, the Government has finally published the first draft of its wide-ranging Employment Rights Bill, which will make radical changes to employment law in the next few years. Now that the Employment Rights Bill has begun its progress through Parliament, we highlight the key points from the first draft for HR professionals.

  • Type:
    Quick reference

    Employment Rights Bill: key provisions

    Following the publication of the Employment Rights Bill on 10 October 2024, we summarise its key provisions.

  • Type:
    Employment law guide

    Right to request flexible working

    Updated to reflect proposed reforms to flexible working requests under the Employment Rights Bill, which was published on 10 October 2024.

  • Type:
    Legal timetable

    Reform of the right to request flexible working

    Updated to reflect the provisions of the Employment Rights Bill, which was published on 10 October 2024.

  • Date:
    3 October 2024
    Type:
    Commentary and insights

    Right to disconnect: What can the UK learn from other countries?

    The UK Government is seeking to introduce the right to "switch off", which will allow workers to disconnect from work and not be contacted by their employer outside working hours. Labour has indicated that it intends to follow the models in Ireland and Belgium but with the details of the legislation still unclear, what clues can employers glean from these and other countries' approaches to the right to disconnect?

About this topic

HR and legal information and guidance relating to flexible working.