Less than half of dads have their flexible working request approved

New survey data from the Trades Union Congress (The TUC) , our partners in the FlexForAll campaign, shows that less than half (47%) of employed fathers get the flexibility they ask for at work. And only a third (36%) of fathers whose household income is less than ￡40,000 have their flexible working requests approved.?

In its survey of 2,000 parents of children under the age of six, the TUC also found that lower income fathers were less likely to request flexibility in the first place: 52% of fathers in a household with less than ￡40k income did so, compared to 59% on a higher household income.

A quarter (24%) of fathers who hadn't asked for flexible working said this was because they weren't aware that they could ask.??One in five (18%) fathers said it was because they thought their request wouldn’t be approved.

Previous TUC data found mothers having their flexible working requests rejected at a similar rate.?But fathers’ ‘flex stigma’ may operate differently. Flexible working by women tends to be more visible, and male role models rarer; also, fathers are usually the bigger earner in the household, meaning that asking for flexibility may feel especially risky.

And evidence suggests employers may respond more negatively to fathers making such requests, viewing them with suspicion, considering them idle or even mocking them. In her research on 'fatherhood forfeits', Dr Jasmine Kelland found that when asked to assess four fictitious candidates for “workplace commitment”, “hireability” “promotability” and “perceived competence”, caregiving fathers were rated lower than caregiving mothers in every category, in both part-time and full-time roles.?

How the law is changing

Today (Friday 14 July) marks the third reading of the Employment Relations Bill (Flexible Working) in the House of Lords. The Bill seeks to make the right to request flexible working a Day One right for employees – instead of only being available to employees who have worked for the organisation for at least 26 weeks. The Bill:

• Removes the requirement on the employee to explain what effect, if any, the flexible working request would have on the organisation, and how it could be dealt with.
• Allows employees to make two statutory requests within a 12-month period (an increase from one currently).
• Reduces the maximum time that employers have to respond to a flexible working request from three months to two months, and introduces a requirement on employer to consult with the employee before rejecting a flexible working request.
• The government have also committed to introduce a Day One right to request flexible working for employees via secondary legislation.?

This is an improvement on the current situation. But the bad news is that the Bill leaves the onus on employees to take the risk of making a flexible working request, and being seen as less committed to their job as a result.?

We think a much better approach would be to make flexible working (rather than the right to request it) a Day One right for all employees – with the onus on the employer to justify not offering flexible work arrangements. This would take the pressure off fathers and mothers themselves to ‘step out of line’ by making clear their preference for flexibility.

Have your say

Acas - the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service - is updating its statutory Code of Practice on handling requests for flexible working in a reasonable manner. It’s doing this to reflect the anticipated reforms to legislation, significant shift in flexible working in the workplace and changing views since its existing Code was published in 2014.?It has launched a consultation (running until 6 September), to help shape good practice on handling requests for flexible working. If you have negotiated flexible working arrangements (successfully or otherwise!) do please try to share your experience.

Case study: What flexibility feels like for a father

Rajit Gholap, a charity finance director based in London (pictured above) is a father-of-two who says his employer was “brilliant when it came to flexible working for parents”.?

“For my first child, I had no formal arrangement but took long lunch breaks, particularly on Fridays where my daughter and I would go to the library together. It was a very special time in early 2021, before people were routinely going into an office.

“For my second child, I did 9-day fortnights. It was brilliant. Every other Friday felt like a real treat day for us to be able to bond as a new family of four, away from the chores that often dominated the rest of the weekend. My wife, particularly post recovery, found this time invaluable.”

Rajit says he felt able to work flexibly because he saw so many other people in the organisation – mostly mothers – already doing it.?

“It was really empowering to have an employer that respected people’s commitments outside work. It made a huge difference to my relationship with my children, and with my wife – who was able to pursue her ambition to create a community group because she could rely on me to look after the children sometimes.”

Having senior colleagues who expect men to take parenting leave and work flexibly is important, he adds.?

“When I told my female Chairperson that my wife and I were expecting a baby, the first thing she said was ‘what are you doing about shared parental leave?’, which demonstrated clearly that this part of my life was valued.?

“Some men find parenting quite hard. Having role models and colleagues with expectations about your involvement can help them acknowledge and overcome any fears they might have – both at home and in the workplace.”?