Employee Rights Under UK Law
Many UK companies are unaware that since April of 2007, they are legally obliged to look at flexible working programs for all their employees.
Since April of 2003 the law has stated that employers must consider flexible working for employees, if they have young children (under 6) or disabled children (under 18), however this right was extended to all employees from 7th April 2007.
Most people are familiar with the concept of 'flexitime', whereby an employee works specified 'core hours', but has the flexibility to work the remaining contracted hours at any time within pre-determined 'flexi time bands'. These 'flexi time bands' normally occur both before and after an employees 'core hours'.
A whole range of non-standard working arrangements have become increasingly common over the last decade. This is largely as a response to meeting recruitment difficulties, but also to improve motivation, to help retain qualified & experienced employees and often to support & encourage equal opportunities & diversity initiatives. In addition, there has been pressure form employees who battle to maintain a satisfactory balance between their work and other commitments, and also from government, who have been taking legislative steps to facilitate this.
This is now commonly referred to as 'Work-Life Balance'. Initiatives taken by employers to help employees manage their 'Work-Life Balance' and best meet their needs & aspirations include the following;
- flexi-time
- staggered hours
- time off in lieu
- compressed working hours
- shift swapping
- self-rostering
- annualised hours
- job-sharing
- part-time working
- term-time working
- home-working
- tele-working
- work breaks (including unpaid sabbaticals or career break schemes)
Many of the companies that we talk to do not have a strategy for addressing the increasing issue of flexible working.
At Auto Time Solutions, we have a variety of products that meet the demands of todays workplace. Our experienced consultants are here to help and advise you of 'best practices' that meet these requirements and to recommend solutions that will compliment your workforce.
