Flexible working cited as biggest challenge in Employment Rights Bill

A survey looking into the businesses challenges of new Employment Rights Bill policies, found flexible working was top of the list.

One of the proposed new policies is to expand or improve access to flexible working – to make it the ‘default’ where practical.

However, over a fifth (22%) of the 300 UK HR decision makers surveyed said this would be the most challenging aspect of the employment reforms.

The Ciphr report shows other challenging measures identified by businesses include:

• Strengthening of legal protections for workers taking part in industrial action (cited by 21%)
• The extension of employment tribunal time limits – which could lead to an increase in claims (17%)
• Requirement for organisations with 250+ employees to publish Equality Action Plans (including menopause action plans), alongside gender pay gap data (17%)
• Requirement/obligation to offer guaranteed hours to qualifying zero and low hours workers (including agency workers) (16%)
• Statutory sick pay (no lower earnings limit and waiting period) (16%)
• Changes to the qualifying period for unfair dismissal (16%)
• Day one right to paternity leave (16%)
• Additional threshold for collective redundancy consultation (14%)
• Whistleblowing protections (to include disclosure of sexual harassment) (14%)
• Requirement for employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment (14%)
• Stronger protections for pregnant women and new mothers against dismissal (14%)
• Day one right to bereavement leave (including leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks) (14%)
• Obligation to keep working time records of annual leave and pay entitlements (14%)
• Code of practice to prevent two-tier workforces in public sector outsourcing contracts (13%)
• Liability to not permit harassment of workers by third parties (13%)
• Statutory probation period (length of ‘initial period’ still in consultation) (12%)
• Stopping the use of NDAs to silence harassment or discrimination allegations (12%)
• Day one right to unpaid parental leave (11% )
• Restrictions on fire and rehire practices (8.3%)
• Regulation of umbrella companies (7%)
• None of the above (9.3%)

Claire Hawes, chief people and operations officer at Ciphr, commented on the findings, “I’m encouraged but also a little surprised to see that expanding the remit of flexible working still tops the list of challenges for organisations. After years of hybrid working and the proven business benefits of supporting good work/life balance for employees, you might expect employers to feel more confident.

“But the data tells us the difficulty now lies less in writing the policy and more in embedding fair and transparent decision-making, especially in sectors where presence on-site is the norm. There are, of course, many front-line or in-person roles that simply cannot be done remotely, and many employees who do not want to work remotely either. At its heart, flexible working is about giving people more autonomy and flexibility over how they work, and should be embraced.

“There’s no doubt that many of these employment reforms are going to prove complex, admin-heavy, and perhaps costly for some employers to implement. The changes that may create the biggest compliance headaches share some common themes – they all demand better processes and better use of people data, which is sometimes easier said than done.

“Whether it’s managing multiple flexible-working requests, meeting new consultation steps, publishing Equality Action Plans, or, potentially, dealing with increased employment tribunal claims, HR will be at the forefront and in the firing line. HR has a vital role to play in the successful implementation of this bill – helping to build clear frameworks, train managers, and ensure auditable records.

“Done well, the changes introduced by the Employment Rights Bill could help employers to broaden talent pools, boost retention and engagement, reduce absenteeism and create more inclusive, trusting workplaces. In the short-term, the administrative lift will be challenging. But it is far outweighed by the long-term business gains.”

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