Peterborough office

48 Broadway, Peterborough Cambridgeshire, PE1 1YW

01733 346 333 01733 562 338 enquiries@hegarty.co.uk

Stamford office

10 Ironmonger Street, Stamford Lincolnshire, PE9 1PL

01780 752 066 01780 762 774 enquiries@hegarty.co.uk

Oakham office

66 South Street, Oakham Rutland, LE15 6BQ

01572 757 565 01572 720 555 enquiries@hegarty.co.uk

Market Deeping office

27a Market Place, Market Deeping, PE6 8EA

01778 230 120 01778 230 129 enquiries@hegarty.co.uk

Bourne office

11a North Street, Bourne, PE10 9AE

01778 230 030 enquiries@hegarty.co.uk
  • Services
  • Sectors
  • Our Team
  • About us
  • Insights & Legal
  • Legal Q&As
  • Useful information
  • Contact us
  • Careers
  • 3 Aug 2021

    The future of the workplace | Could flexible working become a day one right for employees?

    The government is considering introducing a Flexible Working Bill which  would give all employees a right to flexible working from the very first day of employment. The new Bill would also require employers to include details of flexible working arrangements in job advertisements. 

    The current law around flexible working which was introduced in 2014 states all employees who have more than 26 weeks' service with their employer have the right to request flexible working if they are legally classed as an employee and they have not made another flexible working request in the past 12 months. However, employers are under no obligation to accept flexible working requests.

    What is flexible working?

    There are calls for a greater understanding of flexible working, which includes a variety of options such as fixed or predictable hours, allowing employees to reduce their working hours to work part-time, change their start or finish times (sometimes known as ‘flexitime’), compress hours over fewer days, work from home or elsewhere (‘remote working’) or share the job with someone else.

    A right for all, rather than a perk for the few

    Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, who proposed the new Bill to parliament in June, said the current flexible working law is outdated and new legislation is needed to make flexible working a right for all rather than a perk for the few. For instance, the standard working days and hours for full-time employees do not adequately support all modern families in maintaining a good work-life balance. These working arrangements particularly put women, disabled workers, and those on lower incomes at a disadvantage. Those supporting the Bill believe it may assist the government in creating more opportunities for more people including women, and those with disabilities.

    Inequalities across the UK workforce 

    A survey to investigate the prevalence and nature of pregnancy discrimination and disadvantage in the workplace conducted by the Human Rights Commission and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills found that one in nine mothers were either dismissed, treated poorly to the point that they chose to leave their job, or were made compulsorily redundant, where others in their workplace were not. Different approaches to flexible working from employers have led to inequalities in the UK workforce, which the new Bill aims to address. 

    The Bill is still moving through parliament, and it is currently at the second reading stage within the House of Commons. 

    To speak to Katie Bowen Nicholas about any aspect of Employment Law please call 01733 295 672 or email katie.bowennicholas@hegarty.co.uk.

    Contact our team today

    Contact Permission

    We would like to stay in touch with offers, news and event invitations. We will always treat your personal details with respect and we will never sell them to other companies for marketing purposes. You can find details of our full privacy policy here.

    You can stop receiving updates at any time by clicking 'unsubscribe' at the bottom of our emails or by emailing enquiries@hegarty.co.uk

    Please let us know if you would like to hear from us:

    Stay up-to-date with Hegarty