What it is and who can request it
Flexible working may involve:
- Job sharing
- Working off-site (e.g teachers carrying out PPA work from home)
- Working part-time
- Compressed hours
- Flexitime
- Annualised hours
- Staggered hours
- Phased retirement
This is set out in the DfE's guidance on flexible working in schools.
Flexible working can benefit your school by helping you to:
- Retain experienced staff
- Recruit from a broader pool of teachers
- Improve your staff's wellbeing and work-life balance
Statutory requests
All employees have the right to make a statutory request for flexible working, as long as they've worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks. This includes part-time workers. However, it does not cover agency workers unless they're returning from parental leave.
An employee can only make 1 statutory application in any 12-month period. See The Flexible Working Regulations 2014 and section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Staff who don't meet the requirements for a statutory request can make a non-statutory