News
Merseyside employers seek flexible advice
As from April 2009, a change in legislation will allow parents with children up to the age of 16 will be able to request flexible working hours from their employers. This means that an extra 4.5 million parents will be eligible, the benefits are clear for overworked parents. For companies, especially small businesses this could hold a number of financial and staffing costs.
This news has been welcomed by parents, as a sign of the government's progressive approach to equality in the workplace, recognising that modern workplaces are a lot different than the outdated mid 20th century way of working, flexibility is key in the modern workplace.
Although this is a good thing for employees, the timing is somewhat off for employers, a deep recession is not the best time to implement such policies. The financial burden to companies, who are already struggling because of the recession, could be extremely detrimental. That in mind, employers have the option to reject an application for flexible working hours on a number of grounds.
An application can be refused, for example, if there is a burden of additional costs to the company, a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand or a detrimental impact on performance are a few of the reasons. To stay legal, employers must consider an application within 28 days of receiving the request and they should confirm receipt of this request with the employee.
When employers are faced with such issues, they should do everything in their power to be employee friendly and stay legal to the letter. A costly employment tribunal is the last thing that small businesses need during this financial climate.