Advice on flexi working time

[Lex234]

Hi, I am hoping to get some advice on managing a number of flexi time arrangements. I am new in post as manager. It has become apparent that a number of employees have already agreed flexi arrangements (small business, no HR department). I am absolutely supportive of flexi arrangements where needed and where it is possible. The problem is that all of these flexi arrangements (and there are a variety of reasons for them) require morning shifts, when the demands of the business are static across a 24 hour period. They are in place for around 25% of the workforce! I have read that once agreed that flexi time forms part of the contract once agreed and cannot be unilaterally changed. However, the current level is not sustainable. I intend to do individual reviews and hopefully agree changes where possible, but if agreement is not forthcoming, I still need a solution! It would not be financially viable to employ more staff to cover the hours due to the agreed shift patterns. There are some arrangements that are likely to need to continue (and I will advocate for those employees), but others have been agreed because they are preferred hours rather than for a particular reason. Could someone in the know give me some pointers please?

It always terrifies me when people with no legal or HR training try and give advice on threads like these.

If an informal flexi time arrangement has been agreed then it has possibly formed a term of the employees contracts. If that’s the case then you are in a potentially tricky situation and it’s possibly quite a grey area.

If a formal flexible working request is made and granted then it automatically becomes a permanent change to the contract.

No, you can’t make them redundant - the workplace isn’t closing and presumably there isn’t a reduced requirement for them to do the work that they are employed to do.

What you need to do is seek voluntary agreement to revert their hours. If their contracts contain different hours, and they haven’t worked flexibly for that long, you could risk forcing the change on them and hoping it hasn’t become a contractual term.

If they haven’t worked there for two years they can’t sue for standard constructive or unfair dismissal so you could impose it on them anyway and dismiss if they refuse to agree to the change.

Or for longer serving staff you’d have to go through a consultation period and at the end of it dismiss and offer new terms... but that’s pretty risky and not straightforward at all.

You need legal advice.

@Lex234

I used to work flexi hours and it was wonderful and not abused indeed it was vital as the job involved travel and very odd hours with early and late starts. Typically I might finish work at 500pm and then travel to Cornwall! It can work wonderfully to then have a couple of days off.

One way round it is - as you realise I think - is to talk to individual members of staff and see what they think. "Redundancy" is not an option. Many firms use it as a means of sacking staff but as others indicate it is only where the job disappears. A possible means might be to offer to "buy out" their contract by means of some inducement [money?]