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Considering flexible working

Working flexibly can bring many benefits to your work-life balance. It can increase the time you have to care for a child or other family member and can make managing these responsibilities much easier.

There are many different types of flexible working pattern. Before making a request to work flexibly you should think carefully about your situation and the working pattern that would suit you. Read the sections below which outline some of the areas you might want to consider.

You should also be aware that a flexible working request can take 14 weeks or longer for your employer to consider and introduce. There will probably not be an immediate change once you decide which flexible working pattern suits you.

Family commitments

If you have children or want to work flexibly to care for another family member you could consider working:

• compressed hours
• flexitime
• homeworking
• job-share
• part-time work
• structured time-off in lieu
• term-time working

Salary impacts

If you reduce the hours you work under your employment contract then it is likely that you will have to take a pay cut. If you want to work flexibly and keep the same pay, you should consider:

• compressed hours
• flexitime
• homeworking
• structured time in lieu
• staggered hours
• annualised hours

Daily responsibilities

You may have daily duties that cannot be given to anyone else and have to be performed in the workplace or as a set time. In these cases you may wish to consider:

• job share
• flexitime
  

You may be able to consider other flexible working options if your employer can give your normal duty to another person. Alternatively, you may be able to work around the time you normally carry out the duties.

Changing working hours

Your working hours may depend on busy peaks at work or seasonal hours, or you may just want to be able to work different hours each week. If so, you may want to consider one of the following working patterns:

• annualised hours
• flexitime
• staggered hours
• structured time-off in lieu
• term-time working

These working patterns allow you to take time away from work during quieter work periods.

Fixed working hours

If you want to work the same number of hours every week, you should consider the following working patterns:

• compressed hours
• job-share
• homeworking
• part-time work
• staggered hours

These working patterns allow you to fit your working hours around your caring needs. However, you need to agree with your employer to work outside your normal hours if care commitments impact on your working day.

Continuing to work in normal working hours

If you want to work flexibly within normal working hours you could consider:

• flexitime
• job-share
• part-time work
• staggered hours

On-call work

The following working patterns can be a good option if you are available on-call:

• annualised hours
• compressed hours
• structured time-off in lieu

The fact you can choose periods to work less hours can compensate you for the extra hours you put in during on-call.

What to do next

If you are ready to make a request to work flexibly, you should read 'The right to request flexible working' for details on the process you should follow.

If you would like more information about the different types of flexible working, read the 'Different types of flexible working'.

• The right to request flexible working

• Different types of flexible working

Useful contacts

• Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)

• Citizens Advice Bureau

• Jobcentre Plus

• businesslink.gov.uk Opens new window

• More useful contacts