The employment perk small businesses can actually afford

              

 

This is an abbreviated article by Liz Barclay – read the full article at Business111.com/news

Two in five managers say flexible working is one of the main reasons they stay with their employer, according to new research from the Chartered Management Institute. For small businesses that can’t compete with corporate salaries, pensions and benefits, that could turn flexibility into a surprisingly powerful recruitment and retention tool.

The law is moving in the same direction. Employees already have a day-one right to request flexible working, but from 2027 employers refusing statutory requests will face a new reasonableness test.

YOU CAN STILL SAY NO

The new rules don’t give everybody a right to work from home. Employers will still be able to refuse requests for established business reasons including additional costs, inability to reorganise work, effects on quality or performance and problems meeting customer demand.

But employers will need to explain why refusing the particular request is reasonable. They will also have to consult the employee before rejection. For small businesses without an HR department, that’s another process to manage. Requests, conversations and decisions will need to be handled properly and recorded rather than settled with a quick conversation beside the kettle.

FLEXIBILITY COULD SAVE YOU MONEY

There’s an upside. A five-person business probably can’t compete with a multinational on salary, pension, private healthcare and promotion prospects. But it might be able to let somebody start an hour later so they can take their children to school. That can be worth a lot to an employee.

Replacing somebody is expensive too. In a five-person business, losing one employee means losing 20% of the workforce and then somebody has to recruit, train and integrate their replacement. If changing someone’s hours keeps a good employee, flexibility can make financial sense.

IT HAS TO WORK BOTH WAYS

Not every flexible arrangement will work.

Restaurants, shops, workshops, construction businesses and other physical workplaces need people in particular places at particular times. There can also be resentment when office-based employees can work remotely while colleagues in operational jobs cannot.

Good management therefore matters. The answer doesn’t have to be five days at home or five days in the workplace. Different start times, compressed hours, occasional home working or a trial arrangement might provide enough flexibility for the employee without damaging the business.

THE BARCLAYS WARNING

Barclays provides a useful example of what happens when established flexibility is reduced. The bank is increasing office attendance for affected employees to three days a week, while senior leaders are expected in four. More than 1,000 employees have reportedly backed a Unite-organised letter opposing the change, with workers seeking exemptions for commutes exceeding 40 minutes and financial help with additional travel costs.

For a microbusiness, the lesson is important. Changing an established working arrangement can affect trust, and losing one experienced employee can hurt a five-person business considerably more than losing one employee hurts a bank employing tens of thousands.

MAKE SMALL WORK FOR YOU

Every small employer should have a simple written process for flexible-working requests and keep records of conversations and decisions. But don’t automatically view flexibility as another employment cost. It could be one of the few areas where being small gives you an advantage.

Large employers have policies, hierarchies and thousands of employees to accommodate. A small employer may be able to sit down with somebody and find an arrangement that works for both sides. Big companies can beat you on salary and perks. They can’t necessarily beat you on flexibility. Use that to keep the people you can’t afford to lose.

This is an abbreviated article by Liz Barclay – read the full article at Business111.com/news

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