New EOC advice on dealing with flexible working requests

The Equal Opportunities Commission's ten top tips for employers

1. Treat all requests objectively and with sensitivity: Few individuals will make a request without thinking through the impact on themselves and their jobs.

2. Be consistent: Employers should treat all requests - from men and women - in the same way.

3. Reply promptly: The law sets out the time limits by which you must reply to any requests under the new rights.

4. Explain your reasons clearly: If you turn down a request, you will have to explain why you are doing so in writing, giving clear business reasons.

5. Develop a flexible working policy: This will help with consistency and helps to clarify expectations on both sides.

6. Be open to flexible working in all jobs, including those at management level. There are few jobs that cannot be adapted to flexible working, often bringing benefits to the employer as well as to the employee.

7. Include all staff, not just parents of young children: Parents of children over six, people caring for an elderly relative or those with active outside interests may all benefit from flexible working.

8. Publicise your policy: Flexible working is increasingly popular and should increase employee motivation and loyalty. You also want to make sure that your managers and supervisors know what your policy is, so that it is correctly applied.

9. Monitor the impact: Keep a record of requests to work flexibly and your response, so that you can monitor the impact of your policy.

10. Want to know more? For more information check out other pages on the EOC web site.