Request for flexible working hours. What are my legal rights anyone know?

[FrancescaPingy]

Hi guys

So I am trying to find out what my rights are as a part time working mother of 2 young children. I took on the role 2 years ago working 10am - 2pm Monday to Friday purely as it allows me to care for my children, I also childmind before and after school along side caring for my kids. I am a project coordinator wfh 2 days a week 3 days in the office. The company is relocating adding 1 hour to my current 40 minutes commute meaning I can’t go into the office in the new location on office days to be home in time for the kids. Does anyone know my legal rights if I submit a flexible working request to be wfh every day ( term time only) as a result of the office move and the fact the added commute time would mean I can’t care for my kids or childminding in office days? I’d be commuting 1h 45 min to work 4 hours day on office days. Thanks in advance

Your legal right is for them to consider a flexible working request at least annually. There is no obligation for the company to give you what you request. The decision has to be made for the needs of the business.
If I understand your post correctly: if the business say no, you would need to choose between that job (putting your own child in after school club) and your childcare job.

Hi 👋🏼

I wouldn’t be able to go in office days as I wouldn’t be able to pick up my own kids also. I childmind and my own kids are in that mix. 😊 I only work 10-2 and have successfully delivered my role working remotely. It’s low pay so wouldn’t make sense to put my kids into clubs. On the plus side I could work more hours for the business from home.

They won’t care about your other job of childminding.
sadly they can simply say it doesn’t meet the needs of the business and deny your request.

Even if it’s my own children and their childcare and I’m part time? 😊

Check with ACAS - there used to be guidance around relocation that if over a certain distance you should be offered redundancy.

As for flexible working you have the right to request it. You need to make a case for how it can work.

Your commute and childcare needs are not pertinent to the flexible working request. Your case has to be how this can work for the business.

If they don't agree to it then they have to give business reasons why they are turning it down.

I’m not HR or employment law or anything like that so this is only my opinion/grasp of things and so could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure in employment terms, your childcare isn’t their problem, so they could refuse a flexible working request to WFH permanently if it doesn’t meet business need.

I don’t know if by moving premises that is a change to your contract/terms of employment and so there’s some wiggle room there? But I don’t know if that constitutes a change, so am probably wide of the mark.

Perhaps give ACAS a call.

How far away is the new office?

You have a right to ask but they do not have to accept. The nhs for example does adopt family friendly policy so you are listened to more but really they can still say no.

I honestly don't know how you can be a good project coordinator if you're always WFH, you should probably look for another role

Why can someone not be a good project coordinator who wfh?

Or are you an anti-wfh person?

@FrancescaPingy

you need to speak to ACAS re distance they're moving.

you need to look at your contract & go back to working the hours/days/times in that, but speak to acas first.

could you resign & CM full time instead?

As someone else has said, it's all about business needs, it's not balanced against the requirements of your personal life, so you need to concentrate on demonstrating that there will be no detriment to the business, or how you will mitigate any detriments that might occur.

Can you work additional hours on the 2 days you aren't commuting to accommodate the additional hour. Assuming that on your WFH days you could work from 9:30-2:30 which is 1 hour more twice a week and somehow negotiate the other hour?

They legally have to consider your request…that’s it….if it doesn’t meet service need they can legally reject it…regardless of your circumstances

Distance from your home to current office isn’t their concern. One hour between current and new office might be perfectly reasonable - what does your contract say?

Does your current workplace know you have another role as a childminder?

You can ask for flexible working and reasonable adjustments but I do not think any work place would permit that in order to enable you to continue your childminding business.

It depends on the job, that's the sortof job that you really need to be "on the floor" talking to people not sat at your desk all day. Project Managers, Project Coordinators etc arr hands on roles (well if you're a good one anyway).

The reason why you are applying for flexible working is irrelevant OP. Your legal rights are you can apply for it and the business decide if it will work for them or not. As could anyone in the organisation. Your application would have equal credence with e.g. a single, child free person.
Certainly the fact that you need to be home to do your other job will have no sway and may in fact make your position worse so I probably wouldn't mention that.

Check with ACAS but I think you have more rights if you look at it from the angle of distance from current place of work to the new location. There's a phrase used, something like 'significant difference' or 'substantial difference' in which case you could claim redundancy. I would argue that adding an hour to your commute is a substantial difference and therefore unreasonable to expect you to agree to the relocation.

They should be consulting with you about the move? Are you sure that they plan to have you in the office? Are they paying travel costs?

https://www.gov.uk/employer-relocation-your-rights

This should be helpful

You can put in a flexible work request, but they don’t have to accept it if it doesn’t work for them

How long have you been there?

Well I can wfh within the remit of my job description as my official job title is a coordinator which is just an admin role, but I have worked way beyond my job title and managed project coordination due to my capabilities. Can I refer to my original job description as a ‘ I can do my role as laid our in my job description’ remotely as it’s just admin? X

Also the new offices aren’t big enough to house all the head office employees as it’s smaller so I don’t know how that will work out?

2 years and I was bought in just to do an admin role. I thought it stated that it could be seen as discriminating if they can’t prove as a working mum I can’t do my job WFH and it is a low level part time job x