But shared parental leave and flexible working hotly debated at CIPD Employment Law Conference
The new flexible working rules will have little practical impact, according to law experts at the CIPD’s recent Employment Law Conference.
David Seals, partner at Downs Solicitors, reminded the audience that employers were not obliged to approve flexible working requests. “After all, it’s still only a right to request,” he said. “Employees can ask anyway. They don’t need a statutory right.”
The new rules, which came into force on 30 June this year, allow any employee with at least 26 weeks’ service to request flexible working options, such as a four-day week or working from home.
Seals mentioned in his presentation that he thought the impact of the flexible working rules was “probably modest”, and added that “indirect sex discrimination and unfair constructive dismissal claims will remain the greater risk”.
Sharon Tan, partner at McDemott Will and Emery UK, also had a similar view of flexible working, stating: “It’s a right to request flexible working, not a right to flexible working.”
Seals also expressed doubts about the impact of shared parental leave, which is due to come into force next April. He pointed out that there were economic factors to consider, highlighting that if the father is the higher earner, he would be unlikely to take a large amount of leave.
He also stated that there were cultural barriers also came into play, questioning whether fathers would really want to take longer leave to take care of children anyway. “Don’t underestimate the culture factors,” he warned.
Jenny Willott, minister for employment relations, was more optimistic about the impact shared parental leave and flexible working would have on the workplace and its employees.
“Hopefully, in the longer term, it will enable us to change the perception so flexibility in the workplace is seen as the norm rather than the exception,” she said. “And I think that is changing over time but hopefully the changes that have come in this week will hopefully start to see that really progressing.”
For those concerned about the impact the new flexible working rules would have on their business, Tan offered some practical advice in her presentation. She advised HR professionals to weigh up the costs and benefits of any request they received, and to meet with any employee putting in a request as soon as possible to discuss the options.
She also recommended that HR professionals should deal with flexible working requests promptly, stating that, ideally, any requests should be decided on within three months.