The right for parents to request to work flexibly has been in force since 2003 in Northern Ireland under the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 ("the Order") and was extended in 2007 to allow carers of adults over the age of 18 to request to work flexibly. Currently an employee can request to work flexibly if they have a child under the age of 6 or a disabled child under the age of 18. There are certain eligibility requirements in order to make the request, for example, an employee must have at least 26 weeks continuous service.
If an employee qualifies and has a right to request flexible working, there is a statutory procedure in place as to how the request should be dealt with. The employee's request should be made in writing and the employee must be allowed to be accompanied to a meeting in order to discuss the request. The meeting must be held within 28 days of the date of the employee's request, unless otherwise agreed between the parties.
The employer must inform the employee of their decision in writing within 14 days of the meeting. If a request is accepted, an employer should note that it is a permanent change to the contract of employment unless otherwise agreed.
Under Article 112 of the Order, an employer shall only refuse the application because he considers that one or more of the following grounds apply: -
- (a) burden of additional costs;
- (b) detrimental effect on availability to meet customer demands;
- (c) inability to re-organise work among existing staff
- (d) inability to recruit additional staff;
- (e) detrimental impact on quality;
- (f) detrimental impact on performance;
- (g) insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work;
- (h) planned structural changes.
Where a request has been rejected, the notification of the decision must include the business grounds on which the application was rejected, together with a sufficient explanation as to why this is the case. The notification must also state that the employee has a right to appeal the decision within 14 days.
In England, Scotland and Wales, from April 2009, parents of children up to the age of 16 can now request to work flexibly. The Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland has indicated that it will carry out a public consultation on whether to and to what extent the right should be extended. If the right is extended in Northern Ireland, it is likely that employers will receive such requests with more frequency.
If you have any further queries in relation to flexible working, please contact our Seamus McGranaghan, John Finnegan or Shauna McAleese for further information.