Support employee work-life balance

Achieving a healthy work-life balance is not just a one-off exercise, but a long-term commitment to operating your business in a way that respects your employees' responsibilities outside of their work commitments. Workplace policies designed to help your staff achieve and maintain a healthy work-life balance need to be tailored to your business and your employees.

Outline workplace flexible working rules

Drawing up a clear workplace policy on flexible working can have a positive impact on management by making it clear the circumstances in which a request for flexible working will be considered and approved. This saves management time and means that inconsistencies in management decisions are removed. It can also help employees by explaining their rights around flexible working.

Develop a flexible working policy

Employers looking to implement a flexible working policy to promote a healthy work-life balance should develop a clear, tailored policy that business needs with employee flexibility. Key steps include:

1. Assess core business requirements: Identify what your business needs operationally to maintain productivity and service quality while allowing flexible arrangements.
2. Consult employees and stakeholders: Engage your staff to understand their flexible working needs and preferences, and consult trade unions or staff associations if applicable.
3. Define scope and eligibility: Decide which employees can participate and ensure your policy complies with employment law and does not discriminate unfairly.
4. Outline clear procedures: Your policy should clearly explain:
   • What flexible working is and the types of arrangements available (eg, flexi-time, remote work, hybrid working, job sharing.)
   • The formal process for employees to request flexible working, including the requirement for written requests.
   • The timeframe for responding to requests.
   • How employees can appeal decisions.
5. Maintain management support and leadership: Secure backing from senior management and demonstrate commitment through leadership example and communication.
6. Communicate and train: Explain the policy clearly to all staff and update them on legal changes that may affect them. Provide training to managers on handling requests and recognising work-life balance issues.
7. Implement trial periods: Consider piloting flexible working arrangements to gauge effectiveness and make adjustments before full implementation.
8. Measure success: Use staff feedback, monitor performance metrics such as productivity, absenteeism, turnover rates, and customer satisfaction to evaluate the policy’s impact.

Read more on flexible working: the law and best practice.

Flexible working policy template resources

You can use a template to get you started with writing a flexible working policy that fits your organisation:

• The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland provides a model policy and procedure template on handling requests for flexible working (PDF, 1.07MB) suitable for employers to adapt for their business needs.
• Acas offers a comprehensive flexible working policy template, including guidance on handling requests, refusal grounds, and appeals.

Flexible working request templates

• Acas flexible request acknowledgement letter template.
• Acas flexible working request outcome letter request.

By following these guidelines and using established templates, employers can create a robust, flexible working policy that supports employee wellbeing, ensures legal compliance, and fosters a positive, productive workplace culture centred on healthy work-life balance.