Flexible working

Conference notes the content of circular NJC/01/15 dealing with amendments to the Scheme of Conditions of Service (Grey Book) arising from legislative change.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) has been amended by the Children and Families Act 2014. The new law dispenses with the statutory procedure for consideration of flexible working requests, replacing it with a duty on employers to deal with requests in a ‘reasonable’ manner. The amended legislation does not give employees the right to work flexibly. Instead, it provides a right to ‘request’ flexible working. If the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) rejects the request it must be for one of eight business reasons and an explanation of these reasons, including how they apply to the application, must be given to the employee.

These business reasons include amongst others:

 • Additional costs

• Planned structural change

• Inability to recruit new staff

• Inability to re-organise work among existing staff Conference notes that in reality and due to the cuts agenda adopted by the Government that any FRS would be able to refuse a request for flexible working by utilising one of the above business reasons.

Conference further notes that due to the fact that nationally the majority of childcare is still undertaken by women (Labour Market Statistics) that this is an issue that disproportionally affects women and that whilst concerns over recruitment of women into the FRS have, and are, being addressed the inability to have flexible working arrangements agreed with some FRSs moves the problem towards that of retention of women within the FRS.

Due to many FRSs changing current Duty Shift Systems to those that solely suit the employer’s business case the employees work life balance needs become secondary. Therefore, Conference instructs the Executive Council to undertake immediate discussion through the National Joint Council to pursue a flexible working agreement that reflects the unique work-life balance issues that arise due to FRS personnel having to provide 24/7 emergency response cover. An Executive Council report is also to be produced after the investigation of the potential scale of this problem, this report is to be provided to Conference 2017.