At the end of July, the UK Government introduced new legislation that allowed any employee with more than six months in a job to apply to their employer for some form of flexible working arrangements. Now, research from Sage claims that a third of small businesses are ignoring the legislation, a fact which might be interpreted as suggesting that the UK’s SMEs are not so keen on the idea. What other data suggests, however, is that they’re probably more likely to offer flexible working than larger firms. This can only mean that it’s the legislation that’s the problem, not the practice. Leaving aside the ten percent of SMEs who the Sage report claimed were unaware of the new rules, this still leaves a large number of smaller businesses open to litigation and industrial tribunals. But, as the Federation of Small Businesses warned ahead of the new law’s introduction, the right to request was always likely to lead to headaches for business owners anyway.
“While the new procedure is designed to be light-touch, inevitably it will entail additional administration that the smallest of businesses will have to learn and may struggle to apply,” said FSB chairman, John Allan in an interview in June. “Where requests are declined, our experience shows ‘the right to request’ can introduce an unwelcome negative dynamic into the workplace.”
As well as the potential for resentments and management issues to arise at work, the problem here seems to be that the Government has introduced a stick for a large number of firms who were already actively pursuing carrots. Last year, a survey from Lloyds Commercial Banking found not only that two-thirds of small businesses already operate some form of flexible working practices but they are also fully aware of the benefits. The report cites these as improved morale, better customer service and higher productivity and staff retention.
So, we have to disagree to a large extent with Rob Davis, Head of Technology of Sage UK’s Small and Medium Business Division, when he says: “This should be viewed as an opportunity, not a hurdle to overcome, as flexible working can produce immense benefits for a small business. A boost to staff morale, increased productivity and improved efficiency can all go a long way in unlocking business growth. Small businesses need to make sure they’re set up to provide flexible working should their employees request it. Being not so flexible is no longer an option, this a legislative directive and it cannot be ignored.”
We can’t help but think Sage and a lot of other commentators are missing the point somewhat. The issue for a lot of small business owners is evidently not a lack of will to offer flexible working. They’re close enough to their business and employees to understand its benefits, which is why so many already offer it. What they’re clearly less keen on is being asked to adhere to legislation that aims to get them to do things many are doing anyway, but leaves them open to more administration and a greater threat of workplace disharmony and litigation.
___________________________________
Justin Miller is the sales director of office furniture and ergonomics specialist Wellworking.
Subscribe for weekly updates straight to your inbox.
Join thousands of other workplace professionals to receive regular updates and access premium content
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
August 13, 2014
Small business has no problem with flexible working – it’s just sceptical of legislation
by Justin Miller • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news
“While the new procedure is designed to be light-touch, inevitably it will entail additional administration that the smallest of businesses will have to learn and may struggle to apply,” said FSB chairman, John Allan in an interview in June. “Where requests are declined, our experience shows ‘the right to request’ can introduce an unwelcome negative dynamic into the workplace.”
As well as the potential for resentments and management issues to arise at work, the problem here seems to be that the Government has introduced a stick for a large number of firms who were already actively pursuing carrots. Last year, a survey from Lloyds Commercial Banking found not only that two-thirds of small businesses already operate some form of flexible working practices but they are also fully aware of the benefits. The report cites these as improved morale, better customer service and higher productivity and staff retention.
So, we have to disagree to a large extent with Rob Davis, Head of Technology of Sage UK’s Small and Medium Business Division, when he says: “This should be viewed as an opportunity, not a hurdle to overcome, as flexible working can produce immense benefits for a small business. A boost to staff morale, increased productivity and improved efficiency can all go a long way in unlocking business growth. Small businesses need to make sure they’re set up to provide flexible working should their employees request it. Being not so flexible is no longer an option, this a legislative directive and it cannot be ignored.”
We can’t help but think Sage and a lot of other commentators are missing the point somewhat. The issue for a lot of small business owners is evidently not a lack of will to offer flexible working. They’re close enough to their business and employees to understand its benefits, which is why so many already offer it. What they’re clearly less keen on is being asked to adhere to legislation that aims to get them to do things many are doing anyway, but leaves them open to more administration and a greater threat of workplace disharmony and litigation.
___________________________________