For many employers and employees, the COVID-19 lockdowns showed that employee flexibility was a viable way to continue to operate. Flexible working offers increased productivity, reduced stress or burnout and promotes a healthy work-life balance. Many predict that employees will take this appetite for flexible working into the future and some recruitment experts are already reporting that top candidates are turning down offers that don’t include flexible working.
Did you know that employees have the legal right to ask their employer for flexible working? This right existed long before the pandemic. You can make a flexible working request if you’re an employee who has been with the company for more than 26 weeks and haven’t made a request in the last 12 months. You can ask for things such as remote working, flexible start/finish times, reduced hours and entering a job share with a colleague.
Your employer must look at your request fairly and come to a decision within 3 months. Your employer can reject your request but can only do so for one or more of the following reasons:
Your employer must not discipline you or treat you differently because of your flexible working request. If they were to do so, you might have a viable employment law claim.
It’s important to know your workplace rights. As any solicitor in our employment law department could attest to, unfair practices are not all that uncommon in Northern Ireland’s workplaces. If you feel that you have been treated unfairly at work, we may be able to help. Visit our dedicated Employment Law page or contact us for a free and confidential initial consultation to learn more.
