Member Article

Could you be your employees? flexible friend?

With Business Link

It’s now not just parents of young or disabled children who are able to benefit from rights which support flexible working. Earlier this month, new regulations took effect giving eligible employees the chance to request flexible working to look after adults in need of care. If a member of staff has been employed continuously for 26 weeks, is not an agency worker and has not made another application to work flexibly under the right in the past 12 months, they could be eligible to request flexible working under the new regulations. Eligibility is based on the employees relationship with the adult in need of care and employers wanting further information about the criteria should visit the Extension to the right to request flexible working section of the Business Link North East website.

While it’s important as an employer to familiarise yourself with the new regulations and to consider the potential impact on your business, it might also be a good time to consider flexible working as a more common working practice which, if managed correctly, can benefit your business, your employees and their families.

With the growing pressure of everyday life, which sees many of us juggling work alongside a variety of other commitments and activities, flexible working can allow employees to make better use of their free time. This is particularly helpful for people caring for children or other dependents but others too may find a flexible approach beneficial too, allowing them to be more in control of their workloads and have a better work-life balance.

But flexible working is not just a great way of keeping your staff satisfied. Many employers believe that it makes good business sense and can help bring about the following improvements:

• Greater cost-effectiveness and efficiency, such as saving overheads when employees work from home
• Ability to attract a higher level of skills because the business has access to a more diverse workforce
• More job satisfaction and increased staff morale
• Greater continuity as staff, who might otherwise have left, are offered hours they can manage
• Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty as a result of the above
• Improved competitiveness

For flexible working to be successful it is essential to plan, implement and monitor its introduction across the business and to think about what flexible working arrangements will suit your business best. There are a number of options available that can offer flexibility in terms of time, such as part-time work or shift-work, and location e.g. to enable homeworking. Further details on the variety of options available are also detailed under the Types of flexible working section of the Business Link North East website.

So, check out the options that could help you get the most from your employees and your business and get flexed for success!

For Business Link services in your local area, call 0845 600 9006 or visit the website www.businesslinknortheast.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .