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As employers you hear your employees talking about work life balance. In order to help you understand the various options that are available to your employees, we will over the next few months show you, as an employer, how you can work with your employee to help them, but still run a profitable business.

The areas we will be covering are:

· job-share;

· part-time working;

· annualised hours;

· compressed hours;

· flexitime;

· term-time working;

· swapping hours;

· voluntary-reduced working time;

· working from home;

· career breaks;

· flexible shift working.

Some employees already have the right to request this type of working under the Flexible Working Regulations 2002.

The right to request flexible working is available to employees who have:

· a minimum of 26 weeks’ continuous service as at the date the application is made;

· one or more children under the age of 17 (18 if a child is disabled);

· parental responsibility for the child.

· caring responsibilities for an adult aged 18 or over who is their spouse, partner or civil partner; a relative; or someone who lives at the same address.

The right is available to biological parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, private foster carers, guardians and anyone who is the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child’s parent, guardian, etc, provided that he or she is living with the child and has responsibility for the child’s care. The scope of the regulations is such that the right to request flexible working is available to same-sex partners who live together and share responsibility for the child’s care.

“Partner” for these purposes includes the other member of a heterosexual couple who are not married but are living together as if they were husband and wife, or of a same-sex couple who are not civil partners but are living together as if they were.

“Relative” means a mother, father, adopter, guardian, special guardian (as defined in s.14A of the Children Act 1989), parent-in-law, step-parent, son, step-son, son-in-law, daughter, step-daughter, brother, step-brother, brother-in-law, sister, step-sister, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, uncle, aunt or grandparent. Adoptive relationships with these relatives are included.

The Regulations do not define what a “carer” is and do not give employers an entitlement to ask for proof of caring responsibility.