Документ взят из кэша поисковой машины. Адрес оригинального документа : http://star.arm.ac.uk/~jgd/outgoing/Armagh_CU/WORD/Flexible_Working_Policy.doc Дата изменения: Fri Dec 18 12:10:29 2015 Дата индексирования: Sun Apr 10 11:48:51 2016 Кодировка: Поисковые слова: messenger

Flexible Working Policy






This policy was adopted by the Board of Directors of Armagh Credit Union
Limited






Signed:-

Position


Position




Date:










Flexible Working Arrangements - Policy & Procedure


Scope
All Credit Union Employees with children under the age of seventeen, or
under eighteen if the child receives Disability Living Allowance.

Policy
Armagh Credit Union Limited (the credit union) has a policy of trying to
assist staff to balance their work and home life, and is therefore willing
to consider requests from eligible staff to vary their working hours or
work pattern. Such requests will be considered taking into account the
impact on the organisation, work colleagues and any other relevant factors.
Should you wish to discuss this you should speak to your Manager.

Staff with children under the age of seventeen, or under eighteen if the
child receives Disability Living Allowance has a statutory right to request
flexible working and the Credit Union has a duty to seriously consider this
request. Also employees who are carers of adults are entitled to make a
request for flexible working.

To be eligible a person must:

be an employee (or an employed agency worker who has returned to work from
a period of parental leave)
have worked for the Credit Union continuously for at least 26 weeks on the
date they make their request
not have made another statutory request during the past 12 months

In addition, under the Parental Leave (EU Directive) (Flexible Working)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013, which came into force on 8 March 2013,
employed agency workers who are returning to work from a period of parental
leave are now also extended the right to request flexible working.

The employee can only make an application to care for either:

a child under 17
a disabled child who is under 18
certain adults who require care

Under the statutory arrangements, applications cannot be made for any other
reason.

Parents who can make flexible working requests
A parent can request flexible working if they are either:

the mother, father, adopter, guardian, special guardian, foster parent or
private foster carer of the child or a person who has been granted a
residence order in respect of a child
married to, or the partner or civil partner of, the child's mother, father,
adopter, guardian, special guardian, foster parent or private foster carer
or person who has been granted a residence order in respect of a child

Carers who can make flexible working requests
A carer can request flexible working if they care, or expect to be caring,
for either:
a spouse, partner, civil partner or relative
someone who lives at the carer's address

A relative is a mother, father, adopter, adoptee, guardian, special
guardian, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law,
brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, uncle, aunt or grandparent.
Step-relatives, adoptive relationships and half-blood relatives are also
included.

The frequency of flexible working requests
Employees can make one application every 12 months - even if the second
request in this period was for a different caring responsibility. For
example, an employee wishing to make a request to care for an adult would
still have to wait a year even if their previous request had been to enable
them to care for a child. A year runs from the date the first application
was made.
Before making a subsequent request, the employee must still meet the
eligibility criteria.

Types of flexible working requests
Eligible employees can make a request to:

change the hours they work
change the times when they are required to work
work from home (whether for all or part of the week)

The term flexible working covers flexibility in terms of the hours that are
worked and the location and includes the following:
| |

|Part-time working |Employees are contracted to work less than standard, |
| |basic, full-time hours. |
|Flexi-time |Employees have the freedom to work in any way they |
| |choose outside a set core of hours determined by the |
| |employer. |
|Staggered hours |Employees have different start, finish and break |
| |times, allowing a business to open longer hours. |
|Compressed working |Employees can cover their standard working hours in |
|hours |fewer working days. |
|Job sharing |One full-time job is split between two employees who |
| |agree the hours between them. |
|Shift swapping |Employees arrange shifts among themselves, provided |
| |all required shifts are covered. |
|Self rostering |Employees nominate the shifts they'd prefer, leaving |
| |you to compile shift patterns matching their |
| |individual preferences while covering all required |
| |shifts. |
|Time off in lieu |Employees take time off to compensate for extra hours |
| |worked. |
|Term-time working |An employee remains on a permanent contract but can |
| |take paid/unpaid leave during school holidays. |
|Annual hours |Employees' contracted hours are calculated over a |
| |year. While the majority of shifts are allocated, the |
| |remaining hours are kept in reserve so that workers |
| |can be called in at short notice as required. |
|V-time working |Employees agree to reduce their hours for a fixed |
| |period with a guarantee of Full-time work when this |
| |period ends. |
|Home |Employees spend all or part of their week working from|
|working/teleworking|home or somewhere else away from the employer's |
| |premises. |
|Sabbatical/career |Employees are allowed to take an extended period of |
|break |time off, either paid or unpaid. |


*Flexible arrangements should comply with the law on working time.




Application for flexible working

An employee's application should set out their desired working pattern and
how they think it can be accommodated.


1 Information that must be included in a flexible working application

In order for a flexible working application to be valid, it must contain
certain information. Employees can make an application using form FW(A)
which is available from the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL)
website.
Download form FW(A) from the DEL website (http://www.delni.gov.uk/).
However, the Credit Union can accept an email or letter, or provide
employees with their own application form.

If the employee does not use form FW(A), to be valid their application
must:

be dated and in writing
state that it is being made under the statutory right to make a flexible
working request
confirm that they have, or expect to have, caring responsibility for a
child or adult in need or care
confirm their relationship with the child or adult in question
specify the flexible working pattern applied for
explain what effect the proposed change may have on the business and how it
can be dealt with
state the date on which they want the change to start
state whether they have made any applications to the Credit Union before
and, if so, when


The employee should allow plenty of time between the date of the
application and the date they expect the flexible working arrangement to
start. This is to allow time to look at the application and assess whether
or not it can be accommodated.


2 Proof of parental/caring responsibilities

Employees do not have to give proof of their caring relationship.
Applications are accepted in good faith and the decision on whether or not
to grant a request rests solely on business grounds.


3 Flexible working requests and the contract of employment

If the employer accepts an employee's flexible working request, this will
be a permanent change to their contractual terms and conditions unless
agreed otherwise.

If the employer or the employee are concerned about this, either suggest
that they work flexibly over a trial period or agree that the arrangement
will be temporary.


Considering flexible working requests

The employee will receive acknowledgement of receipt of the employee's
flexible working request in writing.

All statutory flexible working requests will be seriously considered with
the aim of deciding whether the Credit Union can accommodate the requested
work pattern.

Under the statutory procedure, a meeting will be held with the employee to
discuss their request. If the Credit Union cannot accommodate the requested
working pattern, the employee may still wish to explore alternatives to
find a working pattern suitable to both.

Agreement to a flexible working request can be granted simply on the basis
of the application itself without the need for a meeting.


1 Incomplete application

If the application is incomplete, The Credit Union can ask the employee to
resubmit it. The Credit Union does not have to consider the application
until it is resubmitted.

If the employee refuses to provide the information needed, the application
will be treated as withdrawn. The employee will not be able to make another
application for another 12 months.


2 Meeting to discuss the application

A meeting will be arranged with the employee within 28 days of receiving
their valid application. If it is difficult to arrange a meeting within
this period, the employee's agreement will be sought to extend it.

Failure to hold a meeting within the 28-day period or any extension,
without the employee's agreement, will be a breach of the procedure.

The meeting will be arranged at an appropriate time and place that is
convenient for all.


3 The right to be accompanied

The employee has the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade
union representative who works at any other premises which forms part of
the business.

The companion can address the meeting and confer with the employee during
it, but may not answer questions on behalf of the employee.

If the companion is unable to attend the meeting, the employee must seek to
rearrange the meeting. It should take place within seven days of the date
of the original meeting.

You must pay both the employee and their companion for the time off from
their normal working duties to attend the meeting.


4 What happens if the employee fails to attend the meeting?

If the employee is unable to attend the meeting, they should contact the
Credit Union as soon as possible to explain their absence and allow time to
rearrange it for the next mutually convenient time.

If the employee fails to attend the meeting more than once without a
reasonable explanation, their application will be taken as withdrawn and
the employee will be notified in writing.


Reaching a decision on a flexible working request

The Credit Union must notify an employee of their decision within 14 days
of the meeting to discuss their flexible working request.

If more time is needed to consider the request, this must be agreed with
the employee. The Credit Union can use form FW(F) for this purpose.
Flexible working forms are available from the Department for Employment and
Learning (DEL) website.
Download form FW(F) to ask an employee for more time to consider their
flexible working request from the DEL website (http://www.delni.gov.uk/).
If the Credit Union cannot agree to the working pattern asked for, both
parties can still try to reach agreement on an alternative arrangement.


1 Accepting a request

If the Credit Union accepts an employee's flexible working request, the
Credit Union must write to them:

detailing their new working pattern
stating the date on which it will start
ensuring that this notice is dated
stating that the arrangement means a permanent change to the employee's
terms and conditions of employment (unless agreed otherwise)

Form FW(B) can be used for this purpose. Download form FW(B) to use when
accepting an employee's flexible working request from the DEL website
(http://www.delni.gov.uk/).

2 Trial periods for flexible working arrangements

If the Credit Union or the employee are not sure that the proposed flexible
working pattern will work in practice, both parties could try a different
working arrangement or consider a trial period.

Trial periods can happen at two stages before a formal agreement is
reached:

If the Credit Union knows that the employee will be applying, then both
parties can agree to a trial period before they submit a formal written
flexible working request. If this happens, the formal procedure will still
be available to the employee in the future.
If the employee makes a formal written application, the Credit Union could
agree to an extension of time in order to make a decision and the trial
period could happen before both parties reach a final agreement. In this
case the rest of the formal procedure would still be available to the
employee.

3 Informal temporary flexible working arrangements

If the Credit Union and the employee think that a flexible working
arrangement resulting in a permanent change to their contract of employment
may not be the best solution, both parties could consider an informal
temporary arrangement.

For example, this may be appropriate where the employee suddenly becomes
the carer of an adult with a terminal illness or they have to care for
someone with a fluctuating condition like Parkinson's disease.

Any such agreement should be put in writing.

Refusing a flexible working request

If the Credit Union decides that they cannot accommodate any kind of
flexible working for an employee, they must write to them:

stating which of the listed business ground(s) apply as to why they cannot
accept the request
providing an explanation of why the business reasons apply in the
circumstances
setting out the appeal procedure


This written notice must be dated.

Form FW(C) can be used for this purpose. Download form FW(C) to use when
refusing an employee's flexible working request from the Department for
Employment and Learning (DEL) website (http://www.delni.gov.uk/).

4 The business grounds for rejecting a flexible working request

A flexible working request can be rejected on a limited number of set
grounds.

These are:

planned structural changes
the burden of additional costs
a detrimental impact on quality
the inability to recruit additional staff
a detrimental impact on performance
the inability to reorganise work among existing staff
a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
lack of work during the periods the employee proposes to work



Employee's appeal against a refusal of their flexible working request

If an employee believes that the Credit Union has not properly considered
their request they may want to appeal.


1 The employee's notice of appeal

The employee must make their appeal in writing within 14 days of receiving
the Credit Union`s written notice refusing their request.
In the appeal notice, the employee must set out the grounds for making the
appeal and ensure that the appeal is dated.


2 Arranging an appeal meeting

The Credit Union must arrange the appeal meeting within 14 days of
receiving the employee's appeal notice.

This appeal should ideally be heard by a different manager.

The principles on the right to be accompanied, pay for attending the
meeting and what happens if the employee fails to attend are the same as
for the initial meeting as outlined above.

3 Notifying an employee of the decision following the appeal meeting

The Credit Union must inform the employee of the outcome of the appeal in
writing within 14 days after the date of the meeting.

If the Credit Union changes their decision and choose to accept the
employee`s request, this notification must:

be dated
include a description of the new working pattern
state the date from which the new working pattern is to take effect

If the Credit Union chooses to still refuse the request, this notification
must:

Be dated.
State the grounds for the decision. These must be in direct response to the
employee's grounds for making the appeal.
Explain why the grounds for refusal apply in the circumstances.

Form FW(E) may be used for notifying the employee of the decision. Download
form FW(E) to use to respond to an employee's appeal from the Department
for Employment and Learning (DEL) website (http://www.delni.gov.uk/).


This notice amounts to the credit union`s final decision and ends the
formal right-to-request procedure.