Flexible working request help

[Backtowork2023]

Hi this is the first time I’m making a flexible working request. I am returning from maternity leave and HR have said that I should include as much detail as I can. Not sure what detail they mean? I am using a template. Shall I give reasons for the request such as needing to start later due to school/nursery drop offs which I am sharing with Dh and needing to be there to pick up my autistic dc from their new school as there is no wrap around care and they won’t cope being there for extended hours anyway not to mention there is no childminder that picks up from that school either despite even contacting the council to see if they could help. Is this what they mean by detail or is it more about business impact and need etc. Would be grateful for any suppprt.

Also I have read on website that I should mention the Equality Act as my request falls into that because childcare falls usually on women, my Dh has already adjusted his hours for the school run in the morning for older dc which is easier for him as he’s self employed and also can only do so much as he works a distance away and longer hours whereas I’m closer to home and I am already very part time so I’m hoping they could condense my hours slightly. I apologise if this is a silly question but I would really like to get things right and be taken seriously. I have actually nc’d as I’m worried i should know myself.

Think about - ar e your hours reduced? Or are you asking to work from home the additional hours? Or do longer days?

How will you manage your work load and how will that affect your colleagues

What about meetings or staff meetings ect - would they be affected?

In my flexible working request, they wanted to know the reason why, and how I proposed my duties would be covered in my absence, who by, how it would be funded, etc.

In the nicest way possible they don’t give two hoots about your circumstances. They care about THEIR business and how you propose your absence could/should be covered.

you’ll probably know from colleagues past whether this sort of thing is accepted or not but realistically they can say no because “it doesn’t suit the needs of the business” and that’s that..

Thank you. I want to condense my hours so they fit in the school day, I am 0.5fte and I think that can be done, so I can do the school drop offs etc for younger dc. I would still be there for meetings etc. is that what they mean by detail and/or do they want me to talk about reasons?

My contract doesn’t state start times and I wouldn’t be changing my number of hours just that I want to be able to start later finish earlier than the usual time, an hour each side

Well yes that’s why I asked specifically in my op as I’m not sure which angle they want the detail to come from, my personal circumstances ie reasons or the business side

I actually don’t care if they give a two hoots about my circumstances I just don’t want to leave out information incase they actually want it

Your personal circumstances aren't relevant.

Here's what you should include

Your request letter or email must say you're making a 'statutory flexible working request'.
You must also include:
• the date you're sending it
• the change you'd like to make
• when you'd like the change to start
• how you or your employer might deal with any effects the change could have on your work or the organisation
• the date of any previous flexible working requests, if you've made any

It can also help to include:
• any benefits that the change could have to your work or the business – for example, cost saving or doing shift times that others prefer not to do
• any benefits to people you work with – for example, if someone else would like a job share too

Here's a link to ACAS which includes templates

www.acas.org.uk/making-a-flexible-working-request/how-to-make-a-flexible-working-request

My question isn’t about whether they will say yes or no, it’s about getting the request right.

Thank you I am using that template but I am wondering what HR meant by including as much detail as I can, to me that is open to interpretation as legally I just need to state the facts and then talk about alternative arrangements to minimise business impact, is it the more detail I include the better? I don’t know the inner working of the business I can only talk about how my work can be covered which can be summed up in one or two sentences but I don’t want to miss where I can include lots of detail. I hope I am making sense

I have written the context to give some background as I’m not sure if I need to be mentioning the Equality Act as I read I should specifically mention that if my request is due to childcare. I read that on maternity action or Acas website I can’t remember which one

As has been said, they'll be mostly interested in how you propose to keep doing your job/ how will the work be covered in the hours you want to work. Eg if you want to drop 50% of your hours how would the work be covered.

So to focus your thoughts:

What do you do now hours/working pattern wise
What do you want to change it to
What impact does that have, E.g if you work Mon tues weds and want to condense to Mon tues what happens on the weds? If you work 30 hours and want to work 20, what happens to the other 10 hrs of work?

Can you think of ways round the potential problem you bring, sometimes it can help to solve it for them eg if you're a receptionist how would the Wednesday be covered?
What alternative could work for you - it can help to show flexibility in your request.

I do think your circumstances are relevant in this case but you can't rely on them for the request to be successful, at the end of the day of they can't/won't accommodate what you want it's not going to happen. You have the right to request but not the right to be given what you want.

I'd also recommend you speak to whomever would be your manager to see how they feel about it. Then you can explain your circumstances, what the issue it brings you is etc, that your husband has changed his hours as much as possible already. They may have a better/different idea that could work, or help you with figuring out how to get round the business impact. You get one chance at a request (per year I think) so don't chance it.

Surely you want the opposite of condensed hours then? If you want shorter days but the same hours you'll need to work an extra day so you'll be asking to spread rather than condense your hours.

Condensed hours is working longer hours each day to work less days. You want the opposite.

Yes what you're describing isn't condensed hours so you'll need to be clear on what you are actually proposing - whether you want to reduce your hours overall (and take a pay cut) or spread your existing hours over more days to have shorter days (but same pay).

There's no such thing as saying you're going to "condense" your work into fewer hours but keep the same pay. That's not what it means.

How will you be changing to start later and finish earlier without changing the number of hours?

Sorry I should have made it clear, I’m contracted to have certain contact hours with clients and non contact time where i do admin and planning (language tutoring at a private company) what I’m asking is that my contact hours are closer together so they fit within the school hours because as it stands it’s pretty much within the school day but I would get late, my timetable has gaps for admin but I’m wanting it planned so i can get on with admin and planning once I’ve picked up the kids. So I’m basically asking for my contact hours to be more condensed, like I said it would not be a huge difference as I’m already part time and would be an hour less on each side of the day, the alternative is i give up work as my dc school can’t be changed as that’s the best one for her needs and I don’t want to have to choose between her needs and my employment (don’t worry I won’t be putting all this on the form) I will call a meeting to discuss in more detail though as pp has suggested

So effectively you want to have split shifts?

E.g. all your contact hours between 10am and 2pm then all your admin hours between 7pm and 10pm?

I wanted to have one day off and condense this way which is do able but it will be hard to get all my hours in this way without it being a pain for them but if I work 5 days still, it gives better chance of planning my timetable and I’d still have gaps for planning within the school day, rather than cramming it all after school, although I tend to do that anyway as I find it difficult to get everything done during the admin hours in the day anyway so it’s normal for me to take work home

I guess so, I would still be contactable throughout the day, my timetable was fine when me middle dc was at nursery but now she’s at school I can’t as there is no provision after school

I’m on 0.5 fte including the non contact hours so my hours are not taking up the whole day but more school hours anyway I’m hoping they could sort this as leaving work is not going to be good for me, my Dh is good at juggling his hours but ultimately I need to keep my work as we have had issues in the past where I realise I need to keep my income and look at increasing more once I can sort provision for dc after school but that’s a moan for another thread

I think you need to set ou on your application exactly what your current pattern is and exactly what you are proposing to replace it with.

It's really difficult to understand from what you've written what you're actually asking for, so make sure your employer doesn't have the same difficulty. Otherwise they may decline based on misunderstanding what you want.

E.g. your current days, your current total hours, your current start/finish times, etc etc

Then your proposed days, your proposed total hours, your proposed start/finish times, etc etc.

Then details of how you would manage any impact of the change on your colleagues/the employer, any benefits to them, etc.

Thank you yes they’ll know what I mean, because every year they informally ask us what hours we want to work, if any times we can’t do etc but I want the agreement more formal, I am willing to do more to ease workload for colleagues to compensate for this, I always go out of my way usually so I’m hoping that counts for something too, just depends on how easily they can distribute the hours

This.

I'd mention why you want it but really they'll want to know the impact and how to mitigate the impact. Eg. You'd work core hours.