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Now, in the middle of August, the employee has approached my client asking to amend their working hours so that they are able to take the child to school, and they want the change to take effect from when term starts, which is only a few weeks away. What are my client’s options?
A. Arranging working hours around childcare and school hours can be difficult for those responsible for looking after children, and it can take a lot of careful thought and consideration before settling on a plan that suits all parties, including the employer. The statutory flexible working process will apply in these situations.
Since 6 April 2024, all eligible employees from the first day of employment have been able to formally request flexible working. Previously, 26 weeks service was required. This change means that your client’s employee can submit a flexible working request, which will trigger a process that should take, in its entirety, no more than two months to complete.
This of course creates an issue for the employee, as within that two months the child will start school, and if your client doesn’t agree to the request very soon, it could create childcare issues.
The first step your client should take is to ask the employee to put their request in writing, if they’ve not already done so. This will help your client to understand exactly what they want, and when the changes need to start. Unlike under the pre-April flexible working process, the employee does not need to set out the impact the request might have on the business, or how that could be dealt with.
These points, along with whether they’ve considered any alternatives, should be discussed in a consultation meeting, which your client will need to arrange unless they’re able to immediately accept the request, in which case a letter confirming that will suffice. This meeting should take place when it’s reasonable to do so, which in this case is sooner rather than later.
Your client should carefully consider what was discussed in the meeting and arrange to meet with the employee for further consultation if they have any remaining questions. They will need to consider whether there are any measures that are needed to accommodate the request, such as ensuring there is adequate cover at the times the employee will not be at work.
It may not be possible to re-arrange shift patterns or other work. If this is the case, your client should consult with the employee to find a way around it. If there is none, then it may be necessary to refuse the request. If your client does this, they will need to ensure they are able to justify this reasoning under one or more of the eight reasons given under the law.
It may take your client time to consider their response. Should this take the full two months employers are given to deal with a flexible working request, then it may be that the employee needs to arrange alternative childcare or take annual leave at the times they need to be with their child.
Ideally, your client should try to avoid this and deal with the request in time for the child to go to school, but that may not always be possible, especially over summer when staffing numbers might be lower than normal and your client has more demands on their time.
