Flexible Working: An Expert Guide for Legal Sector Employees

As part of Lawyer Monthly’s new series on law school, recruitment and careers in the legal sector, Jo Mercer, HR Manager at Your Legal Friend, describes what you can expect from flexible working and how the request process works.

Achieving greater work-life balance is now considered to be top of the agenda for many employees and employers.

Its rise is down to the influx of talented millennials entering the workplace, a greater awareness of mental health and wellbeing issues and the need to better cater for working parents or other demographics. It’s also due to the realisation that keeping staff happy boosts productivity and supports retention.

Despite flexible working being enshrined in law for over 20 years (under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act in 1996), it is only recently that it has become less of a ‘nice to have’ and more deeply engrained in the legal sector.

It’s described by the UK government as ‘a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, e.g. having flexible start and finish times, or working from home’ but there’s a lot more to a request than meets the eye and it must suit both you and your employer.

At Your Legal Friend we operate a flexible working scheme where every member of staff can work hours that both suit them and the needs of the business as long as they work their contracted hours between the hours of 7am and 7pm.

It’s an attractive option, as is the ability to request a set flexible working pattern which is a huge help to around 30% of our 250-staff operating on this type of contract. Many have requested this to support academic studies, their childcare needs or to care for relatives who are elderly or that have a long-term health condition.

The policy is extended to all staff and can be on either a temporary or permanent basis to suit all parties. All working patterns are reviewed annually to ensure that this is still viable for the employee and the business and to ensure that the original reason for the request is still in place.

It’s worth bearing in mind that if you’re a trainee or newly qualified solicitor, your employer will want to nurture you and offer close support in order for you to progress as quickly as possible.

This means that you may find that you are less likely to be granted a request to work from say 7.00am until 2.00pm as you will miss out on key developmental support from senior members of staff. As you progress and become more independent, this may change.

Some flexible working agreements are negotiated at interview stage. Senior and well-regarded solicitors within the industry or department heads can use this as a bartering tool alongside salary requirements.

No matter what your position, if your personal circumstances change whilst you’re in employment then you can typically obtain a ‘right to request’ form from your line manager or your HR representative.

You must have been at the organisation for 26 weeks and you mustn’t have submitted one in the previous twelve months. These forms are likely to ask you for the following details:

• A description of your current working pattern
• A description of the working pattern you would like in the future
• The reason for your request
• When you would like the new working pattern to commence and if this has an end date
• How you think the new working pattern will affect the business and your colleagues
• How you think the effect on the business and your colleagues can be managed

It’s vital to provide as much information as possible, particularly demonstrating that you have thought about potential risks and offered sensible ways of mitigating them.

This may be followed by a meeting to discuss the request between you, HR and your line manager with the outcome determined and discussed at a later date. Bear in mind that by law your employer can take up to three months to consider this, so it may not necessarily be a quick turnaround.

Ultimately the firm is duty bound to ensure your request does not have a detrimental impact on colleagues or the organisation.

Sometimes you must be prepared to give and take. You may arrive at a solution that is not the same as what you’d originally had in mind. For example, you may be able to work a day or two with reduced hours, so long as the hours are balanced out over the rest of the working week.

It’s important to remember that, if the flexible working you have requested is not feasible, then all is not lost and agile working could be implemented if the IT infrastructure supports this and service delivery can be maintained. This option allows employees to work offsite and at home which negates the commute to work and frees up additional time.

It’s best that you keep an open mind about flexible working. Your circumstances will change over time and the most important thing is to have a clear view of what will enable you to achieve your work life balance goals without impacting on your career.