There are 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year – and there are many organisations which have to provide their services throughout that time.

There was a time when supermarkets were busiest on Thursday evening, and banks closed at 3.30 pm. Change driven by service user demand has called for greater flexibility in the arrangement of work, and this trend will continue.

The beauty of flexible work patterns is that if they are developed in partnership with the staff concerned, they can deliver the win/win of mutual gain - improved service delivery and enhanced employee engagement.

See our case studies for an example. (Library service opening times extended in Bristol.)

Several organisations in Wales participated in a project co-ordinated by Chwarae Teg in 2002-2005 which promoted work-life balance. http://www.wlbinwales.org.uk.

Employee engagement, which is higher commitment to the organisation’s goals, is generally enhanced through open dialogue between staff and their line managers. It is not uncommon for the staff who are responsible for service delivery to know how those services could be improved. Few people actually enjoy dealing with long queues or slow services, and involving staff in gauging service user preferences can generate very positive results.

There is overlap between smarter ways of working and work-life balance campaigns. The main distinction is that smarter ways of working begin with the objective of service improvement, which of course improves staff enjoyment of their work. The benefits of smarter ways of working often also include improvement in the working lives of the staff concerned.

Contractual variation

An employer has statutory obligations to conduct meaningful consultations before undertaking change which involves alterations to contracts. The pattern of working time is covered by these obligations. However, it is good practice to discuss such changes with staff and their representatives, so the statutory obligations may provide a starting point rather than an obstacle.

Employer obligation

There are statutory requirements to give ‘reasonable consideration’ to any request for flexible working made by parents of young children and organisations may have made further policy commitments in this respect, but it is alright to say no.

Clearly, not every job/role is suited to a ‘flexible’ pattern. Where face-to-face interaction with others is important or where equipment/technology is important, the role may not be suitable. But such roles may lend themselves to a more ‘ad hoc’ occasional variation, or even an agreed plan which does not involve the same hours away each week.

If the manager is always absent at a particular time, there is a risk that this time quickly becomes a ‘rest period’ for all concerned.

The following topics are covered, in detail, within the Directory.

Annual hours - Bank Staff - Compressed hours - Elastic hours - Fixed term contracts - Flexitime - Interim working - Job share - Overtime - Shiftwork - Temp agency workers - Zero hours