Flexible working arrangements, such as hybrid work, flexitime, and compressed hours, have become increasingly desirable for employees looking to balance work and their personal lives. As of April 6th, 2024, UK employment law has undergone significant updates to empower employees with greater flexibility and control over their work lives.

Many myths have grown up around the legal rights of those who are pregnant and on maternity leave, it can be hard to sort the facts from the fiction. In this article we answer some of the most common question Does a company have a right to know I’m pregnant if I’m applying for a job? In a word, no. There’s no legal requirement for you to inform a potential employer that you’re pregnant when you go for an interview with them. In the past, some employers have dismissed new employees upon finding out they were pregnant, and tried to argue in court that not disclosing the pregnancy at interview showed a lack of integrity. But this argument has been firmly rejected by courts and tribunals. The bottom line is, employers are not allowed to discriminate against you on the basis of your pregnancy and if you’re dismissed for any reason related to your pregnancy, you can bring an unfair dismissal claim, regardless of whether you’ve been employed by the company for five years or five days. Is it okay for a potential employer to ask me in an interview if I plan to have children? Definitely not! Employers are not allowed to ask you about your family plans, including whether you already have children or whether you intend to. If you’ve been asked this and ultimately didn’t get the job, this could be evidence of a discriminatory motive behind the employer’s selection process. I heard I can’t be made redundant if I’m pregnant or on maternity leave. Is that true? It’s not true. In fact, it’s one of the most common misconceptions around pregnancy and employment law. When there is a genuine redundancy situation and you’re selected for redundancy fair and square, based on objective criteria applied to everyone else under consideration, then your employment can be terminated legally. Saying that, the pregnancy discrimination laws still apply here. So if the redundancy selection criteria has taken into account anything connected to your pregnancy (including a pregnancy-related illness), then this could indicate you have been unfairly selected for dismissal . Do I get preferential treatment when it comes to being offered an alternative role? Where employees are being offered other suitable vacancies to avoid redundancy, then those who are on maternity leave (or another type of statutory parental leave) must be given preferential treatment and considered first in line. This is one of the very few examples of lawful positive discrimination under English law. However, this doesn’t apply if you’re pregnant and still working – only if you’ve already started your maternity leave. Is my employer allowed to contact me while I’m on maternity leave? Yes, the law makes it clear that they can and indeed they should keep in contact while you’re off. If they don’t, it could be considered sex discrimination if you miss out on hearing about internal vacancies or promotions or other business related announcements. But it’s a good idea to talk to your employer about what level of contact is best for you and how you would like to receive updates. For example, do you want essential emails only (updates on pay rises, bonuses, reorganisations, etc.) or would you like to hear about the annual summer party, too? What if my employer likes my maternity cover better? Can they move me to a different job when I return? No, they can’t. You have the right to return to the same job, so your employer must keep your job open for you. There is one exception, and that’s where it is no longer reasonably practical to give you your job back – for instance, if the job no longer exists. But if that happens, the company has to give you another suitable job. How can we help you? If you would like to know more about your employment rights during pregnancy and while on maternity leave, talk to our employment law specialists today. We’ll help you figure out the best way forward for you.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) hasIn Hextall v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police the EAT ruled that an employment tribunal had made a number of errors when it dismissed claims of direct and indirect sex discrimination brought by a police officer. The case was remitted to a new employment tribunal to consider the claim of indirect sex discrimination afresh. Previous case The case of Ali concerned a claim of direct sex discrimination brought by a male employee who sought to compare his situation of wanting to take shared parental leave to care for his newborn daughter with a female employee on maternity leave. He argued that it was direct sex discrimination for his employer to pay him only statutory pay while women received enhanced pay. His claim was dismissed by an employment tribunal and this was upheld by the EAT. The EAT considered that the purpose of shared parental leave (caring for a child) was not comparable to the purpose of maternity leave which was primarily for the health of the mother (although she would obviously also care for her child during that time). See our recent update for more details on this case. The latest case In the Hextall case the police officer claimed that a discrepancy between payments made to men on SPL and women on maternity leave amounted to both direct and indirect sex discrimination which was unlawful. Like in Ali, the tribunal rejected the argument that women on maternity leave were valid comparators for men on SPL for the purposes of the direct discrimination claim; the correct comparator was a woman on SPL. This element of the decision was not challenged on appeal. However, the tribunal then applied that finding in rejecting the indirect sex discrimination claim and the EAT ruled this was an error. The EAT went on to find that the tribunal had also erred by failing to clearly identify the “particular disadvantage” to which men were put (a vital element of any indirect discrimination claim). Unless the comparative disadvantage was precisely identified, no conclusion on whether men seeking leave to care for a newborn baby were put at a particular disadvantage compared with women in similar circumstances could be reached. Finally, the tribunal had erred by holding that paying only the statutory rate for those taking SPL did not put men at a particular disadvantage, on the basis that men and women on SPL were entitled to payment of the same amount. Indirect discrimination cases, by their very nature, consider an apparently neutral criteria that applies to everyone and it is no defence in such claims to say that the rule applies equally to men and women. Comment It will be very interesting to see what the employment tribunal now decides in this case. Employers are understandably confused about their legal obligations to fathers taking shared parental leave and it is hoped that a definitive decision from the EAT (or higher court) will bring some much needed certainty to this area. For the time being at least, the status quo is preserved. Thanks to the decision in Ali employers can rest assured that they will not be directly discriminating on the basis of sex if they fail to enhance pay for those on SPL . As regards a possible indirect sex discrimination claim, even if (and it’s a big one) the tribunal rules the pay policy was capable of being sex discriminatory, employers always have the option of defending such claims by arguing such terms were objectively justified – in short that there was a good business reason for them.

Pregnancy and maternity rights in the workplace are perhaps one of the most misunderstood areas of employment law for employers and individuals alike. As a result, all sorts of myths have grown up over the years. We often get queries on this topic and have picked our “top three” to answer in this article. Does an employer have a right to know I’m pregnant when I’m applying for a job? In a word, no. There’s no legal requirement for you to inform a potential employer that you’re pregnant when you go for an interview. In the past, some employers have dismissed new employees upon finding out they were pregnant, and tried to argue that not disclosing the pregnancy at interview showed a lack of honesty and integrity. However, this argument has been firmly rejected by courts and tribunals. The bottom line is, employers are not allowed to discriminate against you on the basis of your pregnancy (both during recruitment and afterwards), they must assess your suitability for the vacancy on objective grounds, the fact of any pregnancy is irrelevant and must not be taken into account. If you’re dismissed for any reason related to your pregnancy, the dismissal will be automatically unfair and you can bring a claim, regardless of whether you’ve been employed for five years or five days. Is my employer allowed to contact me while I’m on maternity leave? Yes, the law makes it clear that they can and indeed should keep in contact with you while you’re off. If they don’t, it could be considered sex discrimination if you miss out on hearing about internal vacancies or promotions or other business related announcements. But, it’s a good idea to talk to your employer about what level of contact is best for you and how you would like to receive updates. For example, do you want essential emails only (updates on pay rises, bonuses, reorganisations, etc.) or would you like to hear about the annual summer party, too? What if my employer likes my maternity cover better, can they move me to a different job when I return? No, they can’t. You have the right to return to the same job, so your employer must allow you to go back to your old role and cannot keep the maternity cover in that job. If your job no longer exists, perhaps because of a reorganisation while you have been off, then your employer must find you another suitable role, which is as similar as possible to your old job, on your return. How can we help you?  If you would like to know more about your employment rights during pregnancy and while on maternity leave, talk to our employment law specialists today. We’ll help you figure out the best way forward for you.

Returning to work after maybe a year or more out of the workplace on maternity leave can be daunting. That’s why it is particularly important to understand what your legal rights and entitlements are regarding holidays, promotions and pay, prior to heading back to work. The right to return to the same job after maternity leave Perhaps the most important right employees returning to work from maternity leave have is the right to return to their old job. An employer cannot decide to keep on anyone else who was employed to cover the maternity leave in the returning woman’s role – it is her job and she is legally entitled to return to it. The only exception to this position is where this is not reasonably practicable for example, if a restructure has taken place in her absence and the original job no longer exists following her return. However, if this is the case, an employer is obliged to provide a a comparable job which is suitable for her, on the same terms and conditions such as pay and responsibility, as the role that existed prior to taking leave. The right to take accrued holiday While an employee is on maternity leave, she continues to accrue all her contractual holiday entitlement as though she were still working. Because a worker cannot mix different types of leave, someone who took 12 months maternity leave would potentially have a year’s worth of accrued holiday at the end of her leave. Often, an employer will require employees to take all of their accrued annual leave at the end of their maternity leave (or before they go) as this is less disruptive. It can also be more financially beneficial to an employee who has had a period of unpaid of time off. Some employers enforce a rule that all holiday has to be taken in the same working year in which it accrues, with no carry over allowed. However, if it is not possible for a woman to comply with such a rule due to being on maternity leave, then the rule has to be disapplied, meaning she has the right to carry over her holiday entitlement to a subsequent year. Improved terms and conditions for maternity leave An employee who has been absent on maternity leave has the right to enjoy all of the terms and conditions they would have had if they were still working. So, for example, any general pay rise which was implemented while she wasn’t working also has to be applied to her upon her return. It may also be necessary to recalculate any earnings related statutory maternity pay (SMP) to take account of any pay rise granted before the end of period of leave. This means that an employee may be entitled to receive a “top-up” payment from their employer during maternity leave. A woman must also be treated as if she had not been absent from work for the purposes of accruing seniority or entitlement to potential benefits. For example, just because a woman has not been working, does not mean that she is not entitled to a pay increment linked to her years of service which would have applied had she still been at work. Protection against unfair dismissal A woman who is dismissed from work following her return from maternity leave for a reason related to pregnancy, maternity or because she took leave will be automatically count as an unfair dismissal and the offended party will be able to bring a claim against her employer, regardless of length of service. While a woman is on maternity leave, her employer must give her preferential treatment in a redundancy situation. This means that she must be offered suitable alternative positions ahead of anyone else. This protection currently ends once she returns to work after maternity leave. However, any service which accrued while she was off work must be counted by an employer and any maternity related absence cannot be considered for the purposes of a redundancy selection process. Protection against unfavourable treatment Under the Equality Act 2010 , employees are protected against unfavourable treatment as a result of a pregnancy (of hers) and maternity. This includes potential unfavourable treatment because she has taken maternity leave. Whilst there must be a provable link between the treatment and the reason for it, this is potentially a wide protection as there is no need to compare treatment with anyone else (as there is in other direct discrimination cases) and the protection is potentially unlimited in time. For more information on a woman’s employee rights regarding pregnancy and maternity, please see our article debunking common myths surrounding the topic.

There’s an almost inexhaustible array of arrangements which might be described as flexible working, including job sharing, working from home, compressed hours, term-time working or just changing your hours – it doesn’t always have to mean working part-time. Flexible working isn’t a term of art, and has no special legal meaning, however it is commonly associated with an improved employee work-life balance. It also has benefits for an employer, as a workplace which truly embraces flexible working for everyone has been found to lead to greater job satisfaction, improved loyalty and is recruitment positive. The legal right to request flexible working The right to request flexible working (as opposed to the right to demand it) was first introduced in 2002 and originally covered only those who had caring responsibilities for children or others. However, in June 2014 the right was extended to all employees, regardless of the reason why an individual wanted to work flexibly. Legally, an employee is entitled to make a request to their employer for a permanent change to their terms and conditions relating to their working hours, times or location. Gender discrimination and flexible working Male employees can face stigma in the workplace if they request flexible arrangements, as they are traditionally regarded as providers rather than carers. Society has traditionally expected women to take on caring roles within families which is the norm in many cultures. Statistics suggest this is still the case in the UK, with estimates that women with dependants are three and a half times more likely to work part-time than men with dependants. In turn, this leads to a gap in average pay between men and women, as part-time jobs tend to be more junior and lower paid and workers commonly sacrifice career progression when they go part-time. Anecdotally, men who request flexible working arrangements are more likely to be turned down than women. However, pressure is slowly mounting on employers to increase flexible working options for all staff, and the Government has pledged to set up a task force to review how flexible working is working in practice . Realistically it is likely to take quite some time before it is as culturally acceptable for men to make flexible working requests. Tips for employees requesting flexible working Check your existing flexible working policy Check your employer’s staff handbook or intranet to see if it has its own flexible working policy. If so, this should set out what you have to do to make a request; follow this policy to the letter. For example, meet any stated timescale, provide all the information requested and send to the correct person/department. Submit your request in writing Don’t worry if your employer doesn’t have its own flexible working policy – the law lays down a framework for you to follow. A formal flexible working request can be made by any employee (regardless of whether they have children or need to care for an elderly relative), but only once they have been employed for 26 weeks. Requests to work flexibly must be in writing, be dated and state the date of any previous request to your employer. Include all the details of your request Although it is likely that your employer will invite you to a meeting to discuss your application in more detail, it can be really useful to put as much information into your request as possible. This will ensure that everything is recorded and your employer can have a chance to consider it in depth. Your application should include the following information: What change you are requesting. For example, do you want different hours, part-time days, home working etc. When you want this to take effect Why you want or need the change and the effect it will have on your work How you think this will affect the business Whether the request is in relation to the Equality Act 210. For example, it is a reasonable adjustment for a disabled employee. The effect that your proposed working arrangements will have on the business may be positive, such as increased efficiency or money saving. If you think the change may have a negative effect, then try and come up with ideas to mitigate this. If you think the change will be neutral, then say so. Remember flexible working is a permanent change Unless you agree on a time limited change (which most employers will probably be reluctant to do and are not required to do so), remember that what you are actually asking for when you request flexible working arrangements is a permanent change to your employment terms and conditions. If your request is accepted, it is unlikely that you will be able to revert to your current terms at a later date. It should also be noted that each employee can only make one request every 12 months, so it will be beneficial to take some time to consider the details of your request. Do your homework and get it right – otherwise you will be waiting a while before you can ask again. Consider your employer’s point of view An employer can only turn down a request to work flexibly on eight grounds which are laid down by law. These are: The burden of additional costs, Inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff, Inability to recruit additional staff, Detrimental impact on quality, Detrimental impact on performance, Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand, Insufficient work for periods employee proposes to work, Planned structural changes to the business. It is not acceptable for the employer to say it has a policy any employee of a certain level must work full-time. It is also unacceptable to deny flexible working on the grounds that the employer ‘wants everyone in the office’ or that ‘it has enough people working flexibly’. Some employers or particular managers may be prejudiced against the idea of flexible working, but this is not a legitimate reason to turn down your request. Try and anticipate what your employer may find problematic about your request and come up with some solutions to try and overcome their concerns. If your employer is nervous, be prepared to have a trial period to show how your requested arrangements could work in practice. An employer must decide upon any request within three months of receipt, and this time limit includes hearing any appeal. Once your request has been made, keep an eye on the calendar and chase up your application. Remind your employer about the timescale if you haven’t heard anything. Remember discrimination law also applies Quite apart from the statutory right to make a flexible working request, equality and discrimination law may also be relevant to your own particular circumstances. The protected characteristics of sex, age and disability are likely to be the most relevant but, it will all depend on why you are making your request and who else within your organisation is able to work flexibly. Employers need to be aware that even if they turn down a flexible working request on one of the permitted grounds, this does not excuse them from the provisions of the Equality Act. The act may still render their refusal of your request unlawful discrimination (either indirect or direct). The future of flexible working In October 2017 the then Prime Minister made a speech about closing the gender pay gap, in which companies were called upon to advertise all jobs as flexible from day one, unless there are solid business reasons not to. So, it is possible we may see some changes to the legislation along these lines in the future.

When going on maternity leave, many expectant mothers will have questions regarding their rights as an employee. With an abundance of myths surrounding maternity entitlements, it’s no surprise that concerns may arise. In the infographic below, we have highlighted the most common assumptions surrounding maternity leave in the UK, in order to distinguish facts from fiction. These include issues relating to eligibility, pay and holidays, as well as what your employer can and cannot ask of you whilst you are off work  For more information about your rights when returning to work, please see our full article on this topic.

It’s no secret that life changes dramatically after having a baby and the way you were able to work prior to maternity leave may no longer be feasible. For many women, giving up work altogether is not a financial option; they need to continue to earn to pay the mortgage and support their household. In such circumstances, flexible working after maternity leave may be the only solution. The realities of maternity leave Regardless of how long they have worked for their employer, all women are entitled to take up to 12 months maternity leave. Maternity leave is a legal entitlement which is intended to assist a mother in recovering from pregnancy and childbirth and allow her to care for her baby in its early months. Importantly, a mother has a legal right to return to her old job at the end of her maternity leave. Unlike maternity leave, there are eligibility requirements in order to be able to claim statutory maternity pay. Maternity pay is only paid for 39 weeks, with the first six weeks at 90% of earnings, then £146.68 a week. Many, but not all, employers offer enhanced maternity pay for a limited period. Therefore, it is no surprise that many women do not take their full 12 months maternity leave as it is not financially viable to do so, particularly as having a new baby will involve additional costs. The logistics of returning to work after maternity leave Parenthood is all about ‘learning on the job’ and it understandably takes most people some time to adjust to their new reality once they have had a baby. However, the earlier that you can start thinking about the logistics of returning to work, the better prepared you will be to achieve the outcome you want. You will need to decide what sort of childcare you will use: a nursery, a childminder, a nanny, family members or a mixture of all or some of these. You will want to visit nurseries, interview child minders or nannies and talk honestly to family about what help they can give. In some areas it may be necessary to go on to waiting lists for popular nurseries. Once you have decided what your preferred childcare is you will need to consider whether the hours match your working patterns. At this point it may be apparent that working full-time is not feasible, or it will be only if you can change the way you work. This is where flexible working comes in to play. Flexible working after maternity leave can not only help you manage childcare arrangements but can also be financially advantageous by helping to reduce childcare costs (which are likely to be considerable). It also has a number of other proven advantages for employers and employees such as minimising travelling time and costs, reducing stress, increasing wellbeing, as well as improving productivity, staff morale and loyalty. For the sake of completeness it should also be mentioned that flexible working can have some disadvantages as well. These should not be ignored when considering what sort of flexible working you will ask for following maternity leave. What is flexible working? The phrase ‘flexible working’ working is an umbrella term which covers a multitude of arrangements which might be put in place to assist an employee with their childcare or other caring responsibilities. The right to request flexible working is a legal right which applies to all employees (as long as they have been employed for at least 26 weeks) regardless of whether or not they have children. However, it is heavily used by working parents and, although a flexible working request can be made at any point in someone’s working life, it is common for parents returning from maternity or adoption leave to use at that point. Flexible working often means part-time working (particularly by mothers), but it might also take the form of working from home, job sharing, flexitime or term-time only working or just guaranteed shifts that fit around your childcare. It is important to note that the legal right is only to ask your employer for flexible working and for them to consider your request; they are not obliged to say yes and can turn down requests if they have a reasonable basis for doing so. Should you make a flexible working request? Following maternity leave, you normally have the right to return to your old job on the same terms as before, with your seniority preserved. You will also be entitled to benefit from any pay rises which have been implemented while you have been on maternity leave. Your employer will expect you to return to your role on the same basis as before and you will be required to do so, unless you ask for changes. For many people, this will involve making a formal flexible working request . However, in smaller organisations, where there is a strong culture of supporting working parents, or where you have a very good working relationship with your manager, you may wish to deal with this informally first by simply having a chat to ascertain what the possibilities might be. How to ask for flexible working after maternity leave Given that employers may lawfully refuse a request for flexible working in certain circumstances, it can be a nervous time for parents. For women on maternity leave, it may therefore be advisable to start the process early on so that they know exactly where they stand and can make alternative arrangements if necessary or have adequate time to challenge any refusal. If you think your employer may be reluctant about agreeing to flexible working, think about offering a trial period so you can demonstrate that it can work for both parties. They said yes… If your employer agrees to your request, that’s great! Remember, though that this will be a permanent change to your contract of employment – so make sure you get an amended agreement – you won’t be able to switch back to your old terms of employment at a later date without your employer’s agreement (and your old job may not be available any more). They said no… The law on flexible working requests allows employers to reject requests on certain specified business grounds. However, what they cannot do is reject a request on other grounds such as, “we’ve already got too many people working part-time” or “it’s our policy that all our managers have to work full-time”. Whatever the reason, your employer must explain the reasoning motives behind their refusal. Although you have no strict legal right to appeal your employer’s decision, employers must be able to demonstrate that they have considered the request in a reasonable manner and this might involve providing an appeal procedure. Alternatively, you could use your employer’s grievance procedure, which all employers must have, to challenge any refusal to allow flexible working. Can I sue my employer if they won’t allow flexible working after maternity leave? There are some limited situations in which you can issue a claim against your employer in an employment tribunal. These circumstances are where your employer: did not handle your request in a ‘reasonable manner’ wrongly treated your application as withdrawn dismissed you or treated you unfairly because of your request rejected your application based on incorrect facts However, it’s important to remember that you only have 3 months from the date of your employer’s decision (or the date your employer should have responded to your request) to bring such a claim. Sex discrimination Regardless of whether a formal flexible working request has been made, an employer risks a sex discrimination claim if they refuse to alter the employment terms and conditions for a new mother returning to work. Sex discrimination claims can be brought in the employment tribunal while an employee is still employed; there is no need to resign first. Employment tribunals tend to accept that more women than men have primary responsibility for childcare. Therefore, if an employer unreasonably refuses to accommodate a mother returning to work who asks for changes to assist her with childcare arrangements it may be indirectly discriminating against her, if it has no good business reason for its refusal. For an example of a case where the employee successfully brought such a claim in the employment tribunal, please see our article on changes to flexible working arrangements & sex discrimination.  Alternatively, a failure to properly consider a flexible working request or an unreasonable rejection of a flexible working request could be a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence, entitling the employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal .

All employees (whether they have children or not) have a legal right to request flexible working, once they have worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks. Being able to work flexibly may, at first glance, appear to be the answer to the work/life balance conundrum with no apparent downsides. However, before making a flexible working request, it is important to consider all aspects of what’s involved. This means taking off the rose-tinted spectacles and thinking about what some of the disadvantages may be and how they may affect you. The disadvantages of requesting flexible working An employee’s legal right is only to request flexible working , not to be automatically granted it. If your employer has a good business reason, they can lawfully refuse your request. This can obviously lead to disappointment at best and outright conflict with your employer at worst. If your employer turns you down, you have to wait 12 months before making another application. If you are lucky enough to be granted flexible working this is likely to require changes to your working practices, and these will be permanent – you will not be able to swap and change if you find these are not to your liking in practice (unless you have a very amenable employer!). The impact of these changes will affect you, your employer, your work colleagues and possibly your family and friends. So, what are the possible downsides to think about? Flexible working often means working from home For an employee, working from home may seem ideal. However, it’s sometimes difficult for other family members to respect or even fully understand the fact that although you’re physically at home, you are working and not free to do ‘other stuff’. You won’t be able to meet for a coffee, do housework or run errands for friends any more than if you were in the office! Blurring the home / work balance Hand in hand with the above comes the fact that when you work from home, it can be difficult to maintain a clear delineation between work and home. It’s all too easy to slip into working beyond set hours, with a “I’ll just get this done” mentality meaning you’re working into the evening rather than enjoying all important down time. What’s more, colleagues working different hours, or your employer, may think it’s acceptable to contact you in what is not part of your working day – and you may find it hard to ignore them. Suddenly, that much valued afternoon off is filled up with work matters. Procrastination Working from home requires a high degree of self-motivation. It’s all too easy to procrastinate and avoid getting down to work. With no one looking over your shoulder, before you know it, half the day has gone. This can then lead to additional hours in the evening catching up on missed work hours, when you should be enjoying time with family.  Communication difficulties How easy it is to communicate with your other colleagues (who in turn may be working from home themselves or in the office) will depend on your circumstances and employer. However, technological difficulties shouldn’t be underestimated. You may find it unexpectedly difficult to work with colleagues who are working differently to you or at different times and you may find you have to be highly organised to co-ordinate communications, collaboration, planning and delivery. Flexible working requests can cause employee isolation While working alone from home may mean you can be at your desk by 7am, distraction free and still in your pyjamas if you want to, you also lose out on the energy and creativity of working with others. Missing out on the encouragement, camaraderie and general buzz of working as part of a team can leave you feeling both uninspired and isolated. That in turn can have a knock-on effect on your motivation and even the quality of your work. Studies in the USA have shown that an employee who works at home is at a higher risk of developing depression. Don’t underestimate how much you might miss those birthday cakes or end of the week drinks that make up so much of the social side of work. Reduced benefits Flexible working can take an almost infinite variety of forms. If you are simply changing the times you work, your salary should not be affected but if you are working reduced hours, you will obviously be earning less. As a result, your employer’s pension contributions will also reduce, and any bonus is likely to be pro rated. You will also accrue less paid holiday. Part-time employees are protected against discrimination so that their terms and conditions must not be less favourable than a comparable full-time employee. However, working flexibly may lead to missing out on workplace events such as training which happen when you are not at work. Possible lack of career progression Part-time working is responsible for a significant element of organisations’ gender pay gaps. Women who go part-time tend not to progress so far or fast in their careers (either willingly or unconsciously) and so earn significantly less over their careers than men in full-time roles. Being sidelined It’s a sad fact of life that attitudes to flexible working in some organisations are still less than positive. Anecdotal evidence suggests it is even more frowned on when it is a male employee making a request. While it may manifest itself in subtle ways (thus making it more difficult to take action), an employee who makes a successful application for flexible working may find themselves sidelined from decision making and career progression because (entirely wrongly) their commitment is questioned. Cultural change takes time and is happening slowly. However, with the government firmly behind facilitating flexible working for all, it is to be hoped that more employers will embrace flexibility for staff. Being vulnerable in a downturn Again, anecdotally, flexible working may make employees more vulnerable to redundancy in certain organisations. Clearly, any selection criteria for redundancy must be objective and non-discriminatory so dismissing someone because they worked flexibly would be unfair dismissal as well as, potentially discrimination. Strain on your employer Whatever the advantages to you of flexible working, it’s important not to ignore some of the disadvantages from your employer’s perspective. For some managers, switching to a new way of working and supervision can be difficult as the concept of not being able to see what someone is actually doing may be alien. Employers effectively take a gamble when they grant a flexible working request. For flexible arrangements to work there must be give and take on both sides. If not carefully managed, flexible working can lead to inefficiencies and a drop in quality and communication. The advantages of making a flexible working request If you’re considering making a flexible working request, you’ve probably already thought long and hard about some of the many advantages. Flexi working can help you meet your other commitments such as being there to collect your child from school or dovetailing your working arrangements with your partner to minimise childcare costs. Flexible working boosts productivity It can also contribute to you being more productive, allowing you to work when you’re at your best. If you’re a morning person that might mean getting to your desk super early but allowing you to finish early too. A reduction in overheads Working from home or even in a co-working space can massively reduce commuting time and costs. A reduced commute (perhaps because your flexible arrangements allows you to commute out of peak times and therefore reduces your journey time) can also have a very positive effect, for example by reducing stress and lateness. For your employer, flexible working can mean reduced costs and overheads as less office space and equipment is required and employee travel costs are reduced. Improved employee morale Flexible working arrangements can boost employee well being by reducing stress and strengthen loyalty. A boost to morale helps with levels of absence and can improve productivity. Different working hours and the extended use of technology might even mean your employer can offer extended hours, services or a greater range to clients or customers. Flexible working helps recruitment Recruitment is nearly always a key area for employers so building a reputation as an understanding employer who is flexible and who both trusts and accommodates their employees can enhance an employer’s reputation in the labour market. By making flexible working a success you can assist your employer in strengthening its credentials. Be honest with yourself when making a flexible working request Before making your flexible working request, it’s really important to be honest with yourself about what sort of person you are. How self-motivated and disciplined are you and do you respond well to time spent on your own? You will also need to carefully consider what IT resources you will need to have to ensure your working practices don’t become less efficient. What level of support can your employer offer to get you set up with the right technology and how reliable are its systems? For more information on making a flexible working request, please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of our employment law specialists who will be able to offer expert advice and guidance.