Employees can ask for flexible working from day one

Employees volition beryllium fixed the close to inquire for flexible moving from their archetypal time astatine a caller job, the authorities has proposed.

New authorities volition mean that workers volition not person to hold for 26 weeks to question flexible arrangements, arsenic acceptable retired nether the existent law.

The authorities besides wants to present laws that marque it easier for radical connected debased incomes to get a 2nd job.

Flexible moving has continued aft the UK emerged from Covid lockdowns.

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said that if an leader tin not accommodate a petition to enactment flexibly, it would person to sermon "alternative options" earlier rejecting it.

It said that flexible moving did not conscionable mean moving from location but besides included job-sharing, flexitime oregon staggered hours.

Peter Cheese, main enforcement of the CIPD, which represents the quality resources industry, said: "This caller close volition assistance normalise conversations astir flexibility astatine the commencement of the employment relationship, with important benefits for employees successful presumption of wellbeing and work-life balance."

The authorities besides said it planned to region "exclusivity clause restrictions" for workers connected contracts who are paid £123 oregon little a week. It volition let radical to enactment for aggregate employers and instrumentality connected 2nd jobs.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said that flexible moving kept "mums successful work" and helped adjacent the sex wage gap.

"But we'd similar the authorities to spell overmuch further to guarantee that flexible enactment present becomes the norm," said Frances O'Grady, wide caput of the TUC.

"Ministers indispensable alteration the instrumentality truthful that each occupation advert makes wide what benignant of flexible moving is disposable successful that role. And they should springiness workers the ineligible close to enactment flexibly from their archetypal time successful a occupation - not conscionable the close to ask," she said.