Search Results for: right to request

Many UK firms are unaware of new flexible working rules, or unready for them

by • Flexible working, Knowledge, Legal news, News

ostriches-head-in-sandThe UK is introducing new flexible working legislation at the end of this month, but two new surveys highlight a startling lack of awareness of the changes. According to research from Jobsite, more than half of UK firms and three quarters of employees are unaware of the changes and 25 percent of those firms who are aware of the new law hadn’t considered its implications. The second survey, from QualitySolicitors (sic), found an almost identical lack of awareness amongst SMEs, with just under half of the firms unaware of the new rules and just over a quarter admitting to being unprepared for them. The changes mean that from 30 June, all employees who have worked for their employer for at least six months will be entitled to request alternative working patterns.

(more…)

Flexible working benefits are undermined by short sighted employers

by • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

Flexible work

There has been a growing perception that flexible working practices are now commonplace in the workplace. However a recent report from Working Families, a charity set up to help working parents and carers find a balance between their responsibilities at work and at home, suggests this is a myth. Their report reflects growing concerns based on experiences and queries from their helpline that employers are in fact, becoming more rigid. The report suggests that working parents are coming under increasing pressure to give up their flexible working arrangements. It highlights “a growing number of callers to the helpline reporting the family-friendly working pattern they have had in place for years being changed or withdrawn virtually overnight, with no opportunity for them to express their views”. Ironically, despite the Government’s championing of flexible working it seems the imposition of employment tribunal claim fees could be behind the backlash. (more…)

New data suggests parents are frustrated at lack of flexible working

by • Flexible working, Legal news

No entryFollowing last week’s revelation that the planned extension of Flexible Working Rights to all UK employees would be delayed beyond the proposed implementation date in April, new statistics released by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and a new report from the Working Families charity have revealed some of the disparities that exist in flexible working arrangements across the country. The Working Families survey of a little over 1,000 adults with dependent children, found that almost a third claim there are no flexible arrangements on offer where they work, leading many to feel resentful against their employers, with young fathers twice as likely to strongly resent the lack of flexible working affects their lives.

(more…)

Legal update – Employment Law changes ahead in 2014

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

Employment Law changes ahead in 2014

Some of the most hotly debated employment law issues from last year; including flexible working, workplace wellbeing and the contractual rights of employees look set to make more headlines this year, because 2014 is shaping up to be another year of significant change in UK employment law. While the timetable is subject to amendment, currently the Government is intending to introduce a number of revisions. The key employment law events and cases to watch out for in 2014 will include changes to TUPE, flexible working, flexible parental leave, employment tribunal procedures, redundancy consultation, Acas conciliation, calculation of holiday pay and post-employment victimisation;  which we list below in the date order in which they are proposed. (more…)

There is very little about flexible working that is actually flexible

by • Comment, Events, Flexible working

upside_down_officeIt’s pretty clear why some of the world’s greatest writers have been drawn to the human propensity for moral and linguistic inversions and subversions. Books like 1984, Catch 22 and A Clockwork Orange are predicated on the idea. And it’s not one limited to literature. If we look, we can see it going on all around us. In the field of workplace design and management we can see it in the use of the word ‘flexible’ as used in the phrase flexible working. This is a word that in this particular context is coming to mean something like its opposite.  According to a survey from YouGov, the 9 to 5 is a thing of the past, supplanted by a style of work labelled flexible but which involves a third of us working for over ten hours a day, many at home right up until the point we go to bed with a smartphone that sits by our side, to wake us with a beep and a wodge of new notifications the next morning.

(more…)

Majority of employers support flexible working but perception problems persist

by • Knowledge, Legal news, News, Workplace

flexible work

As we reported last week, the Millennial generation of workers born in the 80s and 90s would describe work as a “thing rather than a place”, and want more flexibility in where and how they work. While the Yahoo home working ban debate uncovered a lot of exasperation and suspicion towards this trend, it’s interesting to see two separate studies, from the UK and the U.S. that show a far less combative attitude. But, as the U.S study discovered, while a majority of employees enjoyed real productivity benefits from home working, nearly half would still go into the office because it is what is expected of them and a small percentage still go because it gets them out of the house. (more…)

Are you working or shirking from home?

by • Comment, Legal news, Technology, Workplace

Staff ill health

During recent weather-related travel disruption, I was inundated with various pieces of information on software that spies on home based employees to check that they really are working, not shirking from home. As Acas opens a consultation on a draft Code of Practice regarding the extended right to request flexible working; and figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the number of people working from home in the UK has risen to over 10 per cent – the advent of these systems begs the question: do employers really trust their staff enough to let them work remotely?

(more…)

Flexible working seen as of more benefit to employers than staff

by • Knowledge, Legal news, News, Technology, Workplace

Flexible working

Nine in ten UK professionals think that flexible working will become the dominant employment model – but half think it will be adopted for business reasons rather than to benefit the workforce. According to research from specialist HR recruiter Ortus, just one in ten professionals (12 per cent) actually deem flexible working to be a vital benefit – lower than the proportion who said a free company mobile phone is vital to them. And just 1 in 10 said they thought it was being implemented to help with gender equality. In the survey conducted among 450 professionals across a variety of sectors, 51 one per cent felt the reason behind the growth of flexible working is efficiency and productivity – not to help people manage the number of hours they work. (more…)

Work-life balance proposals could cause employers to wobble

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

flexible work

Employment experts have raised concerns on the impact on employers of the Children and Families Bill, announced by the government this week, which introduces shared parental leave and extends the right to request flexible working to all employees. The idea behind the reforms is to give parents greater flexibility about how they ‘mix and match’ care of their child but Jonathan Exten-Wright, Partner from DLA Piper said: “Employers would no doubt welcome further guidance on how the new shared leave should operate in practice.”

(more…)

The amenity trap: why more isn’t always better

The amenity trap: why more isn’t always better

by • Comment, Property

In a competitive market with a growing focus on employee experience, landlords are under pressure to differentiate their buildings, and amenity is often the tool of choice. But more isn’t always better.Over the past decade, amenity has evolved from a ‘nice to have’ to a key part of any office building strategy. In a competitive market with a growing focus on employee experience, landlords are under pressure to differentiate their buildings, and amenity is often the tool of choice. But more isn’t always better. The most successful amenity strategies aren’t defined by volume, novelty, or trend. They’re defined by relevance: to the building, the occupier, and the wider market context. When poorly thought through, amenity can become a sunk cost. When well-executed, it can drive rental growth, increase tenant satisfaction, and support leasing velocity. (more…)

Supporting employees with brain injuries: key tips for employers

Supporting employees with brain injuries: key tips for employers

by • Comment, Wellbeing

Brain injuries can have a profound impact on a person’s life, and when it comes to returning to work, both employees and employers face unique challenges.Brain injuries can have a profound impact on a person’s life, and when it comes to returning to work, both employees and employers face unique challenges. Whether the individual is returning to their previous role or starting anew, employers must be prepared to offer support and make necessary adjustments – not just because it’s morally right but because it is legally required. Employers do not have the luxury of turning a blind eye to this, as statistics indicate that a person is admitted to hospital with a brain injury every 90 seconds. Brain injuries can present subtly, and chances are you will know someone who has survived a brain injury, even if you are not aware of it. ‘Brain injury’ refers to both traumatic injuries (caused by an external impact, such as a car accident or assault) and acquired brain injuries (caused from internal factors, such as a stroke or tumour). (more…)

The Internet and a pile of turtles that goes all the way down

The Internet and a pile of turtles that goes all the way down

by • Comment, Technology

alan_turingIn his 1998 book A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking relates the following anecdote: “A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the centre of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: “What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.” The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, “What is the tortoise standing on?” “You’re very clever, young man, very clever,” said the old lady. “But it’s turtles all the way down!” 

(more…)

«< 9 10 11 12 13 >»