It is considered best practice for an organisation to have a Flexible Working Policy for their employees.  The aim of such a policy is to provide a working environment that encourages and assists employees to combine their work and family life as much as possible.

A policy such as this should set out the procedure whereby employees apply for flexible working, and detail the things that will be taken into consideration when an individual decision is made.

It is important that all employees, and Managers in particular are aware of your Flexible Working Policy to ensure that any application made for flexible working are consistently dealt with in relation to the guidance set out by the Flexible Working Policy.

If you are developing a Flexible Working Policy for your organisation then you need to ensure you make reference to the following:

Flexible Working Arrangements
This involves making a change to an employees contract of employment to allow them to care for a child under the age of 6 (or 18 if disabled) should the employee wish.  This kind of adjustment may be made in relation to working hours, start or finishing time, or location of work.  The type of request made will directly relate to the need and request made by the employee.  Only one application for flexible working can be made by each employee in a 12 month period.

Applying for Flexible Working
It is important that you detail within your policy who is eligible to apply for flexible working.  An employee must have at least 26 weeks continuous service at the organisation before making a flexible working request.  The employee must be a father, mother, adopter, guardian or foster parent of a child and have direct responsibility for raising that child to benefit from making a flexible working request.

Making an Application
A Flexible Working Policy must also detail how an employee should make a request for Flexible Working.  This should be done in writing, detailing the circumstances that have resulted in the request, an explanation as to how such a request would affect work, a proposed date for the change, and the employees signature.