Flexible working

Remote working does not in itself denote flexibility in working time. The term flexible working normally refers to flexibility in the organisation or amount of working time, such as through condensed hours, part-time working or term-time working. A remote worker may be able to work flexible hours in order to, for example, be able to do the school pick-up and make up the time later in the day or even at the weekend. This will not always be feasible such as in a job where they have to be at their desk for the same hours as their office-based colleagues.

The FDA senior civil servants union has highlighted the importance of recognising that staff should be able to access flexibility both in working time and in their working location — and not simply to work their usual office hours from an alternative location. The comments were made in response to an increase in departments encouraging staff to work remotely as offices struggled to cope with increased demand for meeting spaces and desks.

Public service union UNISON’s homeworking guide sets out three types of homeworking in workplaces it organises in, with an idea of how they work in practice.