Millions of employees will be able to ask for flexible working on day one of new job under new legislation
5 December 2022, 14:36 | Updated: 5 December 2022, 14:43
Employees will get the right to request flexible working from day one at a new job, the government has proposed.
Under new legislation, workers won't have to wait for 26 weeks to before asking for remote working, as is currently the case as set out in law.
The government also wants to bring in laws making it easier for low income workers to get a second job, the Mail reported.
People have have continued to work flexibly after the end of the UK's coronavirus lockdowns.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said employers not able to accommodate a flexible working request would have to discuss "alternative options" before rejecting it.
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It said that flexible working includes included flexitime, job-sharing, staggered hours or flexitime, as well as working from home.
Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, which represents the HR industry, said: "This new right will help normalise conversations about flexibility at the start of the employment relationship, with significant benefits for employees in terms of wellbeing and work-life balance."
The government also said it was planning to remove "exclusivity clause restrictions" for workers on contracts getting paid £123 and below a week.
It will mean people can work for multiple employers and have second jobs.
The bill was introduced by Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi, who said that giving workers flexibility was a lifeline rather than a "perk".
She said: "Younger families, single parents and lower earners have been hardest hit financially by the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
"This makes it even more important for people who require it to be able to access flexible working."
'Flexible working should be available to everyone,' she said.
Small businesses minister Kevin Hollinrake said last night: ‘Giving staff more say over their working pattern makes for happier employees and more productive businesses. Put simply, it’s a no-brainer.
‘Greater flexibility over where, when, and how people work is an integral part of our plan to make the UK the best place in the world to work.’
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith condemned the plans, and said it would be bad for small businesses.
‘For small businesses there are real issues here,' he said. They’re worried about this sort of thing, because what you end up with if you’re not careful is small business finding it difficult to get certain jobs done because people just say “I’m heading off home”.
‘The Government needs to make it clear there’s a way small businesses will be able to cope with this.'
But Trades Union Congress boss Frances O’Grady says the government needs to go even further: ‘Flexible working should be available to everyone,' she said.
‘It’s how we keep mums in work, close the gender pay gap and give dads more time with their kids, and it’s how we keep disabled workers, older workers and carers in their jobs.
‘Allowing working people to ask for flexible working from their first day in a job would be a small step in the right direction, but we’d like the Government to go much further to ensure that flexible work now becomes the norm.’
