By Sue Tumelty on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
This week the Government puts out proposals to consultation for laws which could see employees have the legal right to submit flexible working requests (FWRs) from the first day on a new job.
This is a significant reduction from the six months limit currently in legislation and would be matched, under the proposals, by a shortened requisite response time on the part of employers.
As a company which supports more than 6,500 SMEs around the UK, we broadly welcome proposals to speed up the process. Aside from giving employees a better work life balance, there are clear benefits to employers of offering more flexibility, including improved ability to recruit and retain staff across the age spectrum.
‘New laws can have unforeseen consequences … it is usually smaller businesses which feel those the most’
However, there are always knock-on effects of new legislation and it is usually smaller businesses which feel those the most.
The consultation is part of the Government’s Good Work Plan programme, under which The HR Dept has represented the views of UK SMEs since it was set up in 2018.
>See also: Is flexible working more valuable to