What is flexi working and could it become policy in London?
Londoners could be given the option of flexible working during heatwaves as one of a number of options Sadiq Khan is considering in battling the climate crisis.
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City Hall is running a survey until the end of next month with answers to questions possibly shaping its London Heat Risk Delivery Plan.
One of the questions is: “Which of the following, if any, would you most like to see introduced to help reduce the impact of hot weather in London?”
An option responders can choose is “flexible working hours to avoid peak heat times”.
City Hall was asked whether this will apply to all Londoners or just those working within the authority.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Flexible working decisions are for individual employers, but the vast majority of good employers already offer some degree of flexible working for their staff.
“It’s good for recruitment and retention, and already adopted by many successful and productive organisations.”
But what is flexible working and how could this affect things for you?
Read also: Sadiq Khan treats policing as optional. Londoners deserve better, writes Susan Hall
What is flexible working?
Flexible working is an alternative arrangement with an employer to suit a worker’s needs.
It can take the form of:
- Working from home,
- Hybrid working,
- Job sharing,
- Compressed hours,
- Changing the days that are worked,
- A different location of working,
- Working different times,
- Moving onto flexi-time, where hours off can be earned and used, giving employees some control of when they work.
Employees have a legal right to make a request for flexible working from their first day in a job and should do so following requirements as set out by the government.
Companies then have two weeks to reply to the request with a good reason as to why.
Which companies have flexible working?
On the back of the covid pandemic, many companies now operate a hybrid or flexible working pattern for staff but it has never been government policy per se.
Working from home has become a requirement for many staff these days, with a reported 30 per cent stating that they would consider quitting if told to come into an office all week.
Mars UK, Virgin Media O2, Elvie and Huel are all on a list of companies identified as being the most flexible for staff to work in.