Family Rights and Flexible Working 


Do you know the difference between maternity, shared maternity, parental, paternity, adoption, dependency leave as well as the rules relating to the right to work flexibly? All of these rights are now enjoyed by most employees, whether male or female, with the exception of maternity leave. Therefore, you must be aware that the days are gone where as an employer you were limited to granting time away from the workplace entirely on the basis of holiday entitlements. 

The right to request flexible working is now available to all employees with 26 weeks continuous service. However, it may be that the employer can reject requests for proper business reasons, which might include: inability to find a substitute worker; the nature of the work not being capable of being carried out part time, and other business contingencies. One request every 12 months is permissible, but crucially the statutory framework for this process is closely related to that of a grievance procedure. 

Formal requests should be heard in a meeting, with a right of appeal available should a request be refused. Each of these areas have their own qualifications and rules with regards their applicability and we can advise in each of these areas. 


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