Flexible Working Application and Questions

[*glow*]

Hi All

I put my app in for flexible working, reducing my hours by 7.5 (equiv of one day) and having three longer days by half an hour and one shorter day..

Anyway, I have been asked to the meeting (standard procedure) but I am totally worried!! If they say no I am in deep trouble as I dont have any family around here to take DS!

So, my questions are:

There are plenty of others on reduced hours in my work, does that mean that they have to offer them to me - I think the answer is no....

Does anyone have any advice about the meeting, what to take etc

Has anyone had it refused and on what basis?

And of course, any other info would be great

Cheers all
G x

 

[Sherlock]

From the DTI site here Scroll down to near the bottom of the page for it.

The Right to Request Flexible Working

Employees who are the parents of young children (under the age of 6) or of disabled children (under the age of 18) have the right to request flexible working patterns. Employers are required to give such requests serious consideration, and may only turn such requests down if they follow a set procedure and are able to justify the decision. Full advice and guidance on the right to request flexible working.

There may be circumstances where a refusal to permit a woman to work part-time or to change her working pattern in some way amounts to unlawful indirect sex discrimination. For example, it may be more difficult for female employees to fulfil the requirement to work full time, given their child-care commitments, than it would be for male equivalents to do so. In circumstances such as this the employer would need to show that there were objective reasons for asking her to work full-time that had nothing to do with her sex.

I've no experience of such a meeting, but I am sure it'll be ok. Just go and talk to them and see what is said. Be prepared to have them table a possible compromise to your hoped for hours, but you don't have to agree to it then and there. You should be able to go away and think about it all.

Hopefully someone else can shed a bit more light on the meeting side of things.

Good luck