One of the most frequently discussed issues in today's human resources management is flexible working hours and the possibility to work from home or other remote locations. Czech employers may implement these measures, but Czech employees do not have a statutory right to request it. In other parts of the Western world, this is not the case any more. The United Kingdom may be an example.
A new law on flexible working will come into force in the UK from June 30, 2014. Currently, flexible working can only be requested by employees who care for children younger than 17 years old or infirm family members. The new Children and Families Act gives the right to request flexible working hours or work locations to all employees who have been working for one employer for more than 26 weeks in a row. This includes measures such as job sharing, working from home, part-time work, and compressed working hours.
Employees may state any reason in his or her application. The reason does not have to be child care or caring for anyone else, but employees can request flexible working only once every 12 months. They may want flexible working simply because they want to spend less time at work.
Employers can refuse requests for flexible working in eight cases
When deciding whether a particular employee will be able to work flexibly, employers have had to follow complex and administratively burdensome procedures. The new legislation leaves out these procedures and replaces them with the duty to deal with employee requests "in a reasonable manner." The law allows only eight situations when employers may refuse. These include cases when approval of the application would result in higher costs, make it impossible to meet customer requirements, reduce product quality and employee performance, or make it impossible for the company to hire new people.
Once an employer receives the request, a meeting with the employee should be arranged as soon as possible. If requested by the employee, a colleague of his or a trade union representative may attend the meeting as well. The employer is obliged to consider the benefits of the application and the potential costs and logistical problems. If the request is approved in the original version or with some modifications, the employer must clearly communicate to the employee the specific measures that will follow. If he choose to refuse the request, he can do so only based on the above-mentioned eight cases determined by the law. The employer must specifically describe how these cases relate to the specific request.
What do you think about this British model? Would you like it in our country?
-kk-