“Flexible hours requests must be considered on their merit”

BLANKET bans on flexible working could leave police forces vulnerable to legal action, an employment lawyer has warned.

Emma Hawksworth, a partner at Slater & Gordon Lawyers, said that any police officer requesting to work flexible hours must have their case judged on its individual merit.

“The presumption should always be that flexible working is possible in every role,” Ms Hawksworth has said.

Rules that insist all officers work a certain number of shifts or start at certain times could leave forces open to a legal challenge if individual cases are not looked at properly, she said.

“To have blanket rules laid down is actually very dangerous and puts forces in quite a vulnerable position,” she said.

According to Ms Hawksworth, if a police force decides that a particular role cannot incorporate flexible working because of operational reasons, it must demonstrate its reasons, hold a consultation and speak to individuals concerned before any decision is reached.

Ms Hawksworth, speaking at the Women’s Eve of Conference meeting at the PFEW annual conference, said one of the most common requests for advice she receives is from women returning to work after having a child and trying to reintegrate into the workplace.

Several delegates and speakers raised concerns that officers, particularly female officers, were finding it difficult to negotiate flexible working hours with their force.

“I think it is clear that when someone wants to work flexibly it is hugely difficult,” said Jayne Monkhouse, an independent equality and diversity advisor. “They don’t find it an easy transition from full-time to part time. In this day and age I think that is absolutely outrageous.”

Sgt Sam Roberts, chair of the Women’s Eve of Conference, said the lack of flexible working could make it difficult to retain female officers over the next five to ten years.

“I don’t think we’ll ever have a problem getting them to the door,” she said. “I think what will hurt them is as they go on and they realise that flexible working and part-time working isn’t available – or is certainly curtailed somewhat – I think that will be the time when they leave the job.”

Professor Jennifer Brown, a chartered occupational psychologist who is working on Lord Stevens’ Independent Police Commission, echoed Sgt Roberts’s point. “We have now got, I think, about 35% who are at the door in terms of recruitment,” she said. “But until you get the flexible working sorted out the retention is going to be nigh impossible.”