It has been successfully argued that, because women tend to have more childcare responsibilities than men, insisting that women work long or inflexible hours can amount to indirect sex discrimination. Women are encouraged to pursue successful careers, yet sadly the assumption is that we should compromise career and lifestyle., Davey believes the pandemic is empowering women like never before. Poor working environments - including discrimination and inequality, excessive workloads, low job control and job insecurity - pose a risk to mental health. Using data from the ONS Labour Force Survey, the CIPD has ranked UK nations and regions from the most to the least flexible in terms of working arrangements. 15 Last-Minute Holiday Marketing Ideas For Brands Getting A Late Start, Nine Strategies To Align Talent For Long-Term Business Needs, The Times They Are A-Changin: How Gen Z Civic Leaders Are Revolutionizing Our Democracy, UNICEF: Time For Joint Action On Mental Health, 10 Strategies To Improve Sales Lead Conversion Rates, 15 Creative Ways To Market A Small Business For Free, When CMOs And CFOs Are At Odds, Rely On Data To Encourage Alignment, Six More Tips To Level Up Your Business Brand. If you believe your employer has treated you unfairly, you can consider taking the following steps. Her employer decided that she could no longer work from home on a full time basis due to a need to provide on-site supervision. They can do this by taking practical actions that will help to unleash the full potential of women everywhere. 2017 Working Families. Lower skilled roles (which are harder to do from home) exist in areas such as Yorkshire and Humber, where workers appear to have very little flexibility at all. Take a holistic approach to diversity and inclusion (D&I). place of work. It is often best to try to resolve the issue with your employer. Wales could "lead the world" in gender equality by allowing employees to choose when they work, say campaigners. Back. 07958 156846. press.office@gmb.org.uk. Household income inequality may decrease if household members can earn extra income through transport network companies. Employers must deal with requests in a reasonable manner. If your employer refuses everyone flexibility for childcare, whether or not their children are disabled, this would not be direct associative disability discrimination. The Supreme Court has ruled that employees who only work for part of the year are now entitled to Read more Anti-money laundering service, SmartSearch, has reviewed ten of the most lucrative fraud and money Read more Government must finally deliver on workers rights, Club dancer was not firm employee, Tribunal finds, Law Commission recommends increased powers for Tribunals. Then, the burden of proof will shift to your employer to provide a non-discriminatory explanation for their actions. An increase in the use of different arrangements, such as flexi-time, compressed hours or job shares will empower people to have greater control and flexibility in their working life. Challenge is important because often its only through challenge that we can move forward in positive ways. It can sometimes be more effective if you focus on solutions and the way forward, rather than the things you are unhappy about. Here six female leaders share their recommendations for what leaders should be doing next to tackle workplace inequality: 1. Raising a grievance is important if you think you might later raise a claim in the Employment Tribunal because failure to follow internal resolution methods can disadvantage your claim. Parents and carers who have their flexible working requests refused can experience discrimination if the refusal amounts to less favourable treatment because of sex. Currently, employees must have worked for an employer for at least 26 weeks to be eligible. The information on the law contained on this site is provided free of charge and does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice to any person on a specific case or matter. She continues: Flexible working now needs to be embedded into future working practices, because it could help women access new opportunities by making it easier to balance other commitments., 5. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has lost a sex discrimination case against an employee who wished to pursue work flexibly but had his request rejected. changing the part-time hours that you work, for example from weekends to weekdays. These roles tend to offer more autonomy and better bargaining power over conditions, including working from home. See our section onstarting a claimfor further information and beware oftime limits. Working Families members have access to guides and factsheets which have been designed to support you and your organisation. are 55 or older. Throughout this year, we will be marking the centenary of women's suffrage and highlighting the programmes and initiatives helping to . For more information on the CIPD's Flex From 1st campaign visit: www.cipd.co.uk/FlexFrom1st. Provide flexible working. The TUC has called on the Government to finally deliver on better workers rights, four years on from the Taylor Review into, A nightclub dancer who was offered work by a consultant solicitor has had her Employment Tribunal claim dismissed after it was. There's no such limit under equality law. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. Nearly one in five women (18.2 percent) and nearly one in three men (31.8 percent) usually work more than 40 hours per week. If you request a flexible working arrangement because of your disability, for example, allowing you to work part-time or different working hours to avoid the need to travel in rush hour, you may have a claim for failure to make reasonable adjustments if your employer refuses your request. How flexible working can help tackle inequality. Inconvenience will not normally be a good reason, nor added costs, if this is the only reason for rejecting the change. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your grievance, you should normally be able to appeal it; the procedure will be set out in your employers grievance policy. Examples of handling requests in a reasonable manner include: Download Acas code of practice for handling requests in a reasonable manner (PDF, 387KB). In my work, I have encountered many professional and executive mothers for whom motherhood brings a loss of identity. The most basic form of flexible working can be as straightforward as choosing your own start and finish times. Well send you a link to a feedback form. Step 5: Monitoring progress and evaluating a Gender Equality Plan. She was described as lazy when she requested time off to look after her son whereas the other parents were not. This article gives an overview of common types of discrimination that arise in flexible working cases involving caring responsibilities. Please call our helplinefor more details. She believes that leaders need to open their eyes to the tremendous people out there by working with staff, trainers, and speakers who could give a perspective you havent even considered yet. Of course there are several theoretical arguments to relate flexible working to less work-family conflict, and therewith higher well-being since conflict and well-being are clearly related (Back-Wiklund et al. Case examplesIna case called Dobson v North Cumbria, an employer had a policy requiring employees, including Mrs Dobson, to work weekends as and when required by the employer. Some general principles have been developed by the courts in flexible working cases. Step 1: Getting started. Anna adds that there is a misconception about flexible working that it is about reducing output when she says it is about getting more from people rather than less. To compile the league table, the CIPD looked at three types of flexible working: Flexibility over when someone works (flexible hours - including flexi-time, annualised hours, term-time working, job share, four and a half day week, zero hours contract) ; Flexibility over where someone works (those who work from home) ; Informal flexibility (how start/end time is determined, ability to take a . The CIPD is warning of the potential risks of creating a two-tier workforce after its analysis of official data found the use of different flexible working arrangements is unequal across the UK with some areas exposed as 'flexible working notspots'. Part-time work is a form of employment that sees you work less than full-time hours, either by cutting your working hours during the day or working fewer days. How to raise a problem at work; Dealing with a problem raised by an employee; Mediation at work; Discrimination, bullying and harassment Health, safety and wellbeing when working from home; Disability at work; Using occupational health at work; Menopause at work; When extreme weather affects work; Medical suspension; Dealing with problems at work. The most common examples of flexible working include: 1. Whitehouse, who runs the popular Mother Pukka blog, is calling for families to discuss how they divide up household chores and childcare, and for more men to push for flexible working. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. There are just so many other factors to take into account. I. Unfortunately, parenting and caring is not protected characteristic under the Equality Act. Erik Pietzka, who was a manager at accountancy firm PWC's office in Cardiff, was told by his employer that pursuing the idea of flexible working . There is also a relationship to higher skill/higher pay jobs that exist in London and the South East. It was women, especially mothers who worked part-time and on reduced hours, rather than full-time workers who work flexibly - i.e. Flexible working relates to an organisation's working arrangements in terms of the time, location and pattern of working. If you are married or in a civil partnership you may be able to argue indirect discrimination, that is, that more married people have childcare responsibilities than unmarried people. All employees can ask at any time to change: hours of work (over a day, a week or year) days of work. For example, if a parent of a disabled child is treated less favourably than parent of non-disabled children becuase they have a disabled child. Well-designed studies are therefore needed to further explain the relationship between flexible working and health and wellbeing. Employers must address flexible working inequality, says CIPD. Once you can quantify the inequality using reliable statistics, the reality of the situation becomes clearer and undeniable. Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, comments: Employers should think creatively about the flexibility they can provide to those that need to be in the physical workplace as well as those who can work remotely, ensuring everyone has fairness of opportunity. 2011). It is enabling leaders of industry to revolutionize recruitment, redefine their job plans, and unearth an incredibly talented pool of women capable of outperforming all expectations, she says. If your request for flexible working is refused, or your employer treats you unfairly in relation to your request, you may also experience unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act. Recommendations to improve how employment law disputes are decidedhave been published by the Law Commission. Men can make a claim for direct sex discrimination if women in their organisation are being given more flexibility, or would have the same flexible working request approved. The CIPD warns that if the downward trend in flexible hours continues, many workers may miss out on the benefits of having more flexible options available to them. In this instance the . The Tribunal will follow a two stage burden of proof test. Some find this scary., Boughey, a member of the U.Ks All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Women and Enterprise, and Women and Work, argues that the rise of women is not about the fall of men. In flexible working cases, indirect sex discrimination occurs when: When deciding whether indirect sex discrimination has taken place, tribunals look at the individual circumstances of each case. So it is necessary to produce evidence to prove the real reason for the treatment so that the Tribunal can infer from the facts what really happened. The pandemic has seen more businesses than ever embrace flexible working and proved it can be successful in most industries, says Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO of business insurance providerTapoly. In early 2020, employers quickly scrambled to implement flexible work arrangements (FWAs) for staff, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. It is unlawful to treat someone less favourably because they are associated with someone else who has a disability. This perhaps accounts for the very low uptake of the right to request flexible working since it was made law in 2003 and expanded to cover all workers as of 2014. If you have further questions and would like to contact our advice team please use our advice contact form below or call us. It will also help organisations to foster more diverse and inclusive workplaces and can improve wellbeing and productivity. Data breakdown is available on request. "We are . Professional, scientific and technical jobs, alongside administrative work have historically seen more flexible working than manufacturing or operational type jobs. Having a workforce that represents the true diversity of the world brings the magic to make teams thrive., Mindy Gibbins-Klein, international speaker and managing director ofPanoma PressandThe Book Midwife,recalls being at meetings and noticing something like an old boys network starting to form. Flexible working rules are different in Northern . prior to the covid-19 pandemic, the uk was already seeing a slow growth in the number of employees working from home, with around 5% of the workforce reporting working mainly from home in 2019 and around 30% reporting that they had ever worked from home. The CIPD is warning of the potential risks of creating a two-tier workforce after its analysis of official data found the use of different flexible working arrangements is unequal across the UK - with some areas exposed as 'flexible working notspots'. because of they bear the main burden of caring responsibilities). The Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed that women are more likely to find it difficult to work certain hours (for example, nights and weekends) or changeable hours (where the changes are dictated by the employer) than men because of childcare responsibilities. The most popular forms of flexible working in the survey were part-time hours and flexitime, whereas more radical forms of flexible working, such as mobile working, full-time homeworking and job sharing, were used by less than 2% of participants. This definition is a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial or long term (i.e., more than 12 months) adverse effect on someones ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Flexible working is a way of working that suits an employee's needs, for example having flexible start and finish times, or working from home. If the discussions with your employer dont resolve the issue, or you think your employer has treated you very unfairly and the relationship is breaking down, you can consider raising a grievance. Because of her caring responsibilities, Mrs Follows could not comply and she was dismissed. Ranking was worked out by analysing three major categories flexibility over when someone works, flexibility over where someone works, and informal flexibility. "Hybrid working existed before COVID and our survey reveals that more than half of employers in Britain expect this type of flexible working to increase once we come out of the pandemic. 4. Printable PDF. At HubbleHQ, we found a 147% search increase for onsite office childcare facilities between 2018 and 2019, with only 1.1% of office spaces able to meet this demand. Firstly, they decide whether you have provided sufficient proof that an act of unlawful discrimination has taken place. Copyright The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2022. Contracted hours dipped in early lockdown, but by October they had recovered. She adds: Give everyone a chance to shine.. Growing hubbub over flexible work practices reflects the changing demographics and needs of modern-day workers. Previous CIPD research found the use of flexible hours such as part-time or flexi-time - has dropped over the last year, while working from home has increased. At a time when many companies are feeling pressured to report on and reduce gender inequality within the workforce, a Stanford sociologist is finding success with a step-by-step method for eliminating the bias at the root of the problem. Targeted actions are needed. Remote, flexible working reduces the likelihood of parents needing to choose between family and career, meaning they can return to their jobs quicker with less of a cost. 130 Wood Street A flexible workplace is an environment that encourages that kind of mindset. The CIPD is calling for the right to request flexible working from day one, so everyone can benefit from having more choice and a say in when and how they work.. We cannot provide advice on employment rights in Northern Ireland as the law is different. If you are unhappy with the outcome of the appeal process, you cancontact us for advice. Flexible working is any form of working arrangement that deviates from your organization's standard policy. If the above steps do not resolve the matter you could bring a claim in the employment tribunal. 5. Flexible working can offer many benefits to employees - for example, by allowing them . Key Points. Her employer rejected this request and offered her a post working 75% of her full time hours. Most employers will not actually say: the reason why Im dismissing you is because of your protected characteristic. If you wish to reproduce this press release in full on your website, please link back to the original source. Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Having a wide range of flexible options is necessary to support the whole workforce and we want to see an increase in the uptake of all forms of flexible working, regardless of the type of work someone does or the region they're in. For more information on appealing a refusal of a flexible working request, see our article on what to do if your flexible working request is refused. The flexible work arrangement of the app-based rideshare platforms seems to encourage more people to sign up for driving, including parents, students and retirees who want an adjustable schedule or supplementary income. Conducted in partnership with LeanIn.Org, this effort is the largest study of women in corporate America.This year, we collected information from 333 participating organizations employing more than 12 million people, surveyed more than 40,000 employees, and conducted interviews with women of diverse identitiesincluding women of . A survey of employers by XpertHR in 2013 found that almost half (47.8%) have up to 20% of their staff working flexibly. Check benefits and financial support you can get, Limits on energy prices: Energy Price Guarantee, Contracts of employment and working hours, View a printable version of the whole guide, Acas: the right to request flexible working, assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the application, holding a meeting to discuss the request with the employee. By Robert Crawford 1st November 2014 12:00 am. Sample letter to request flexible working, Returning to work at the end of maternity leave, Flexible working and the right to request, Working during maternity and family leave and while receiving pay, Strike Out, Deposit Orders and Unless Orders in the Employment Tribunal, Discrimination, harassment and victimisation: Overview, Statement on the second reading of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill, Statement on the second readings of Carers Leave and Protection from Redundancy Bills, Leading UK employers call for flexible recruitment by default, Poll: Over half of UK working parents would consider leaving their job if they found another with better flexibility. The ability to work from home or use flexi-time is key as well. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Employees must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks to be eligible. Flexible work can also be used to change: how work is done. Today is the tenth anniversary of the Equality Act becoming law, a decade since new legislation was passed protecting anyone, in and out of the workplace from discrimination. From this perspective, flexible employment practices are seen to promote isolation, job insecurity, gender inequality, reduced career prospects, longer working hours and work-life imbalance among the workforce ( Bone, 2006; Whittle and Mueller, 2009 ). You must contact ACAS to start early conciliationwithin three months less a dayof the act of discrimination. 1079797, Cost-of-living crisis: Help for employees, Getting, developing and keeping the right people, HR-inform: practical HR and employment law resources, Building the best HR teams around the world, Championing better work and working lives, 'Employers must do more to address flexible working inequality' says CIPD, as new analysis highlights 'flexible working notspots' across the UK, Informal flexibility (how start/end time is determined, ability to take a couple of hours off during the working day to deal with personal matters, able to take leave at short notice, frequency of unforeseen work demands or available for work in free time). These are that the employer: This argument can apply to employers who refuse aflexible working request, or a mothersrequest to work part time, or where require working patterns that are difficult to make work around childcare responsibilities. self-scheduling of shift work (n = 4), flexitime (n = 1) and overtime (n = 1). The term flexible working has no hard and fast definition but essentially it means any working pattern that is different from the standard one operated by an employer. Leaders ought to take an intersectional and holistic approach to tackling workplace inequality, saysJustina Mutale, African Woman of the Year 2012, founder of the Justina Mutale Foundation and author ofThe Art of Iconic Leadership. For the majority of workers in this category, this means working more than 50 hours per week. So, providing flexible working for employees is a great way to promote equality in the workplace. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. You may opt-out by. The researchers controlled for having kids at home or other caring responsibilities, income loss, and local Covid-19 deaths. This decision inFollowsdoes not change the law in the UK as employment tribunal decisions are non-binding, which means that other tribunals are not required to follow them. The EHCR Employment Statutory Code of Practice, which tribunals must take into account, gives the example of allowing a disabled person to work flexible hours to enable him to have additional breaks to overcome fatigue arising from his disability as a potential adjustment that an employer might be required to make. The analysis found that workers in South East England have the best flexible working options, followed by the East of England, while workers in the Yorkshire and Humber are least likely to have flexibility in their role.