Flexible working - unfair response?

LegacyUser

- My contracted hours are 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday. One hour for lunch so a seven hour day.
- My role is not customer-facing. We do not open to the public.
- Overtime is generally unpaid.
- The office is open before 9.00am (generally somebody is there from 7.30am) so we are free to start earlier if we wish. However the majority of staff do not start early and usually arrive in a few minutes before 9.00am.

Over the past couple of years I commuted to work by public transport. It got me in early (8.00am) so I started work then. After a lot of negotiation I was given special dispensation to leave at 4.45pm so that I could catch my transport home. That equated to an extra 45 minutes a day which I was happy to work - unpaid.

Circumstances have recently changed and I now drive to work. I'm used to getting up early and have started arriving in at 7.30am. This suits me.
I asked could I work from 7.30am to 4.15pm (just like before - an extra 45 minutes a day). This was refused.
I then asked could I work 7.45am to 4.30pm (also an extra 45 minutes a day). This was also refused.
My rationale for both these requests was to beat the traffic.

My employer's reason for refusal is "we were willing to facilitate you on an exceptional basis when you had a catch a bus/train but you're driving now so there's no need. Also if other people see you leaving early they'll want to go too. By the way you don't have to start that early anymore."

The culture in the office is simple. People who start early aren't really noticed but people who work after 5pm do attract positive attention.
Two other colleagues have flexible arrangements (to facilitate childcare) but crucially they are 9.30pm - 5.30pm. Just their basic seven hours a day but they're not leaving early which seems to be the important thing.

I'm wondering what my next step should be. I'm wondering if I should just do my contracted hours (9.00am - 5.00pm) and leave it at that.

LowKeyReturn

You come across as unreasonable to me personally. I don't know if custom and practice in relation to working hours works both ways, employer may not even try and enforce you working the previously agreed hours even if you do decide to 'work to rule'.

Your next step would be to raise an official grievance. Seems like a rather serious and unnecessary step imho, but you know your own situation best.

seamus

In my experience employers are often much slower to grant early start request over late start requests. This may be because the boss feels that if someone is coming in early then there's no way to check up on them, and if they're leaving early it may disrupt the work environment - other employees may just see you leaving early, and may not be aware of your early start, so think you're getting preferable treatment.

There's also a very reasonable argument that if you work way outside the normal business hours, then you're not getting the same workload as everyone else. So if someone was to work from 7am to 4pm, then they may be twiddling their thumbs from 7am to 9am and the employer gets better value for money if that person works 8am to 4:45pm, even though it's technically a shorter day.

There is typically a little more work at the end of the day than at the start, which is why they may be happy enough to let your colleague finish late. But it's all very dependent on the way the business operates.

Frankly, I would say you're being a bit unreasonable. All of your colleagues have to deal with traffic just the same, so ultimately you are asking for favourable treatment even if you are working longer hours. Your boss is right, if people see you leaving at 4:15, then they'll think there's some company policy in place and they'll start asking for earlier starts/finishes. You got accommodated on an exceptional basis, but now that exceptional need is gone and you have no real reason for early finishes. I would work your contracted hours and enjoy the extra lie-in. Or use the extra time to go for a run or a walk before work.

Wanderer2010

Just let it drop, OP. Just because you want to avoid the traffic doesnt mean you should be entitled to leave early to do so, if that were the case every other employee would want that same working slot too so you are asking to be treated differently here, which is unfair to your co workers. I know it suited you but now you have a car so you have to deal with the times and work them as best you can. People out there have much longer commutes than you and can still make it in for a non-flexi hour working arrangement so if i were you I would just let it go and not make an issue out of it, its not a real workplace issue, you just want an easier life.

As for the perception that earlier workers dont do much, who is it you are worried about here, your co workers, your manager? If it is ever raised, just keep a log of how much work you do from one week to the next and show it to them. If its your coworkers, dont bother explaining yourself, they are just gossips if they moan about such things.

Duckjob

If it's purely a traffic avoidance issue for you, do you have other stuff of your own you could do (eg. bring in your laptop) from 7.30am - 9, and then just work your normal hours.

Irish_Elect_Eng

As a manager, the devil is in the detail.

• How the request is presented.
• The "Business Case"
• The "Attitude"
• Do I perceive that the person is "self managing"
• Am I at risk of losing them.
• What is that internal group perception
• What is the external group perception
• What are the HR rules
• Etc.
• Etc..
• Etc...

Imagine that you are the manager?

What would you do?

LegacyUser

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Just let it drop, OP. Just because you want to avoid the traffic doesnt mean you should be entitled to leave early to do so, if that were the case every other employee would want that same working slot too so you are asking to be treated differently here, which is unfair to your co workers. I know it suited you but now you have a car so you have to deal with the times and work them as best you can. People out there have much longer commutes than you and can still make it in for a non-flexi hour working arrangement so if i were you I would just let it go and not make an issue out of it, its not a real workplace issue, you just want an easier life.

I have the longest commute (distance-wise) in the office.

Irish_Elect_Eng wrote: »

As a manager, the devil is in the detail.

• How the request is presented.
• The "Business Case"
• The "Attitude"
• Do I perceive that the person is "self managing"
• Am I at risk of losing them.
• What is that internal group perception
• What is the external group perception
• What are the HR rules
• Etc.
• Etc..
• Etc...

Imagine that you are the manager?

What would you do?

The request has been presented verbally.
The business case is simple. We're understaffed with a heavy workload. The company is not willing to hire more people. I am offering to work an extra four / five hours a week - for free - in exchange for a little flexibility. This will help deal with the backlog / workload.
The attitude - give and take works both ways.
I am perceived as self-managing.
Internal group perception - nobody notices the early starter.
HR rules - the company DOES HAVE a flexible working policy. It also has a work/life balance policy. Locally (i.e. Ireland) lip service seems to be paid to both of these.

LowKeyReturn

Employee wrote: »

HR rules - the company DOES HAVE a flexible working policy. It also has a work/life balance policy. Locally (i.e. Ireland) lip service seems to be paid to both of these.

Have to agree on this score. As a general rule managers in Ireland are extremely poor. It's impossible for them to manage on task so they manage on perceptions. It's even worse then in the UK that I thought was bad enough.

Irish_Elect_Eng

Paint a picture of the type of work you do,inputs-outputs , the environment, customers etc. and perhaps we can help you put your case to your boss. What is your relationship like with your boss.