Managing Requests for Flexible Working
Policy statement / The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) recognises the importance of achieving a good work life balance and is committed to supporting flexible working practices where reasonable whilst taking account of business needs and statutory requirements.
The policy outlines the framework and the steps managers and employees must take to ensure a consistent approach to flexible working requests is adopted.
Scope / All employees of the OPCC.
How to use this document / This document is not part of the formal policy. Instead it provides additional information to helpyou as the manager in the practical day to dayapplication of the policy.
It is expected that you will have an understanding of the Managing Requests for Flexible Working Policy prior to using this guide.
Content
Roles and responsibilities
Duty to consider
Timescales
How to invite an employee to a meeting to discuss their request
Who chairs the meeting
Right to be accompanied
Alternative date
How to run a meeting
How to manage the discussion with the employee
When a request may be refused
Detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand
Inability to reorganise work among existing employees
Inability to recruit additional employees
Detrimental impact on quality
Detrimental impact on performance
Burden of additional costs is unacceptable
Insufficient work during the period’s that the employee proposes
Planned structural changes
How to manage more than one request at a time
Possible outcomes of a meeting
How to confirm the decision
Withdrawal of the application by an employee
Right of appeal
How to invite an employee to an appeal meeting
Who chairs the appeal meeting
How to run an appeal meeting
Possible outcomes
How to confirm the appeal decision
How to review your decision
Roles and responsibilities
/ As the manager you are responsible for:- applying the Managing Requests for Flexible Working Policy accurately
- adhering to the time frames set out in the policy
- considering the request
- documenting the outcome
- arranging for a new statement of employment particulars if necessary
- maintaining regular contact with the employeeduring the process
- maintaining appropriate standards of confidentiality
- arranging meetings as necessary
- keeping records, drafting and issuing letters / documentation with HR support as necessary
- informing HR Operations when an appeal is submitted
- complying with the policy
- completing the application form
- engaging with their manager to reach a mutually agreeable solution where practicable
- behaving in a professional manner during all relevant stages of the policy
- arranging their own work companion as necessary and advising their managerof this
- advising on policy application and best practice
- supporting with case management
- advising on the completion of letters, reports and relevant documentation
- attending meetings in an advisory capacity
- HR does not perform a decision making role
- supporting their colleague
They may not answer questions on behalf of the employee.
Duty to consider
/ An employee who meets the eligibility criteria has a statutory right to request a change to the terms and conditions of their contract of employment, in order to allow for flexible working.The right to request flexible workingdoesnot provide an automatic right to work flexibly because, in some circumstances, youmaybe unable to accommodate the employee's request. However, this processis designed to encourage discussion, enabling you and your employee to consider flexible working and find a solution which suits you both.
You are under no duty to agreean employee’s request, but you must meet with them and give it serious consideration.
Timescales
/ Fixed time scales for meetings are set out in the policy. The law requires that all requests, including any appeals, must be considered and decided on, within three months from receiving the request.At any point in the procedure, the time limit can be extended by mutual agreement. In these circumstances you must write to the employee to confirm this.
The letter will be dated and specify the period that the extension relates to and the date on which the extension is to end.
How to invite an employee to a meeting to discuss their request
/ If you need to discuss the employee’s request with them, you need to arrange tomeet with them and provide them with reasonable notice. You can make these arrangements verbally and confirm them through an electronic meeting request if appropriate. There is no requirement to provide written notice.The employee has a statutory right to be accompanied at the meeting by an OPCC work colleague.
If you intend to approve the request in full and do not need to discuss it with the employee, then it is not necessary to hold a meeting.You must however confirm your decision in writing to the employee within 28 calendar days of receiving the application.
Who chairs the meeting
/ Stage / Chair of the meeting / Adviser to the chairApplication / Employee’s Line Manager / None
Other meeting attendees include:
- employee and their work colleague (if requested)
Right to be accompanied
/ The employee has the right to be accompanied at a meeting or appeal meeting by an OPCC work colleague. The statutory right does not extend to a trade union representative.It is the employee’s responsibility to arrange their own companion and advise management of this.
Alternative date
/ An alternative date is automatically scheduled for within 9 calendars days of the first. All reasonable efforts should be made by the employee and their companion to attend the first scheduled date but where this is not possible due to availability, the alternative date will be used.How to run a meeting
/ You should discuss the request with your employee to help you get a better idea of what changes they are looking for and how they may benefit your business and the employee.You should consider the request carefully and weigh up the benefits for the employee and your service against any negative implications.
How to manage the discussion with the employee
/ Whilst at first glance it may seem that you are unable to meet the employee’s request, you may feel differently once you have met with them and they have fully explained their proposal to you. Alternatively, you may be able to suggest a different proposal for their consideration or agree to the request with amendments.Where you or the employee need further time to consider the options or investigate the proposed alternative, you can adjourn the meeting for an agreed period and reconvene.
Where you are uncertain, consider making use of an initial trial period which is subject to review prior to formally agreeing to the request.
If you are unable to agree any element of the request or offer an alternative it may be worthwhile discussing the impact of this decision with the employee so you can address how you will deal with any issues. For instance agreeing to short notice leave requests, granting unpaid leave etc. if appropriate.
If you accept the employee’s request, or accept it with modifications, you should discuss with the employee how and when the changes will be implemented.
When a request may be refused
/ You can only refuse a request if there are business reasons for doing so and these reasons, as below, are set out in legislation. You should consider the following before reaching a decision;Detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand
/ Can the demand be met in another way than currently arranged? Could a trial period be used to see if new arrangements fulfill the need or even offer improvements?Inability to reorganise work among existing employees
/ Can the work be reorganised or reallocated to enable a flexible working arrangement?Have you discussed this within the team to explore the options?
Inability to recruit additional employees
/ Is the difficulty in recruitment perceived or proven?You may need to see if you canactually recruit to a role before making a decision regarding an employee’s application.
Detrimental impact on quality
/ Do the skills and experience across the team provide an opportunity to agree a flexible working arrangement?Where the employee making the request holds a unique skill set, this may prompt you to consider providing training to other employees to improve organisational continuity. Once the training is complete, you may be a better position to agree a flexible working request.
Detrimental impact on performance
/ Is there an anticipated impact on individual, team or organisational performance?It may not be the performance of the employee making the request that you are concerned about but rather the impact on team performance, especially where they have line management responsibility.
Would agreeing to the request reduce the OPCC’s ability to meet its statutory requirements in service delivery?
Burden of additional costs is unacceptable
/ Do the proposals have less obvious savings such as a reduction in overheads from homeworking, better coverage of service or increased outputs?Would the cost of recruiting additional employees outweigh the potential cost of losing the employee who is making the request?
Insufficient work during the period’s that the employee proposes
/ The employee’s requested work pattern may not compliment the current hours of service delivery or peak hours but does it provide an opportunity to change these to improve accessibility?Planned structural changes
/ Could a flexible working application actually help to implement a structural change by making the most out of an opportunity for change?Notifying employees of the planned changes may give them an opportunity to identify opportunities that benefit both them and the OPCC.
How to manage more than one request at a time
/ Where you have previously approved a request and subsequently receive a second from a different employee, remember that the business context has now changed and you can take this into account when considering the second request against the business reasons identified above.In situations where you receive more than request at the same time, the law does not require you to make a value judgment on which request is the most deserving. Rather you must consider each request on its merits, looking at the business case and the possible impact of refusing it. Where the request is part of a reasonable adjustment you need to also take this into consideration.
Where there are several employees already on flexible working arrangements and as a result further requests can not be accommodated, you can review the original arrangements to see whether any can be amended or are no longer needed. This may in turn enable you to approvea new request.
Possible outcomes of a meeting
/ You will decide whether:- the request can be agreed outright
- an alternative proposal can be agreed
- the request is denied
How to confirm the decision
/ You must send a letter to the employee to confirm the outcome. A template letter can be used to ensure all the necessary information is included.The letter will be sent ideally on the same day as the meeting but if not within 4calendar days, and a copy placed on the personnel file or ePF.
Where the employee’s statement of particulars needs changing due to the new arrangement i.e. change to the number of hours or change to workplace you must notify the IBC.
Withdrawal of the application by an employee
/ You may consider an employee to have withdrawn their application when they have either:- advised verbally, or in writing, that they are withdrawing their application
- failed on more than one occasion to attend a meeting to consider their request, without reasonable cause
- refused,without reasonable grounds,to provide you with information that is required to allow an assessment
Right of appeal / An employee has a right to appeal the decision. If the grounds for the appeal are unclear, you should ask the employee to clarify the specific reasons and their evidence.
The grounds for appeal may include:
- the policy has not been followed appropriately
- they disagree with the business reason for your decision
How to invite an employee to an appeal meeting
/ You must write to the employee to invite them to an appeal meeting. The letter must give up to 9 calendar days notice of the meeting.Use the template letter to ensure you include all the necessary information.
The employee has the right to be accompanied by a work colleague.
An alternative date will be arranged, if requested.
Who chairs the appeal meeting
/ Stage / Chair of the meeting / Adviser to the chairAppeal / A senior manager or other nominated manager / HR Adviser
How to run an appeal meeting
/ An appeal seeks to address the specific issues raised by the employee.The chair of the meeting will:
- invite the employee, or companion, to present their appeal
- invite management to present their response
- ask questions in respect of the presentation of the employee’s appeal and/or the management response and allow the other panel members to do so
- invite both to summarise their case - management will usually summarise first (new evidence should not be introduced at this point)
- adjourn the meeting to consider the evidence and decide on the outcome
- reconvene the meeting to notify the employee of the outcome
Possible outcomes
/- the appeal is not upheld and the previous decision remains
- the appeal is upheld and an alternative outcome is decided
How to confirm the appeal decision
/ The chair of the appeal meeting must send a letter to the employee to confirm the outcome. A template letter can be used to ensure all the necessary information is included.The letter should be sent ideally on the same day as the meeting but if not within 4 calendar days of the meeting and a copy placed on the personnel file or ePF.
Where the employee’s statement of particulars needs changing due to the new arrangement i.e. change to the number of hours or change to workplace you must notify the IBC.
How to review your decision
/ You must diarise to review the flexible working arrangement on an annual basis.This allows you and the employee to discuss whether:
- their needs have changed
- the flexible working arrangement is still required
- the flexible working arrangements can continue to be supported by the OPCC
Support / Managers:
Any queries can be directed to HR Operations.
How to guide
Governance
Hantsfile reference: / 6953840Date of publication: / V1 – November 2014
Planned review date: / 3 years or sooner if required
Owner: / HR Operations
Managers’ How to Guide Managing Requests for Flexible Working Policy / Page 1 of 10