NHS employers to formalise flexible work agreements
Guidance from the NHS Staff Council says employers should review ad hoc home and agile working arrangements for nurses and other staff and explore more flexible working options
Agile and home working arrangements for nurses and other healthcare staff will be formalised under new guidance for NHS employers.
The move follows the introduction of a new section to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook designed to support safe and fair home and hybrid working in England and Wales.
Support to continue with working from home arrangements or look at options
New guidance from the NHS Staff Council says employers should carry out a ‘light-touch review’ to regularise arrangements for working from home.
‘The intention is to support employers and employees to continue arrangements which have been working well or consider and agree options where change might be needed,’ the document states.
Director of employment relations and reward at NHS Employers Paul Wallace said organisations would continue to explore more flexible ways of working.
‘Retention will always be important for employers. We recognise that not every role in the NHS will naturally lend itself to hybrid working or working remotely and employers fully recognise the impact of the cost of living challenges that are being experienced by staff,’ he said.
‘Given the range of services that the NHS continues to provide, we know that if we are to support our workforce as well as attract new staff into roles in the NHS, then more use of agile and hybrid working will be a vital step.’
A way to formalise flexible working that began ad hoc during the pandemic
During the pandemic NHS staff, including nurses, in roles that were not patient-facing and those who were clinically vulnerable and shielding were required to work from home.
Many have since returned to the workplace but some arrangements have continued, ranging from the odd day spent working from home to full-time remote working.
The guidance stresses agile or hybrid working is not suitable for all roles and settings and not all employees will want or be able to work from home.
As part of the review, employers should identify individual staff doing some or all their work at home where the arrangement has occurred ad hoc rather than through a contract or formal request for flexible working. A one-to-one meeting with a line manager should be arranged to help confirm or change working patterns.
Improved flexible working could boost recruitment and retention
Section 35 of the handbook stresses the importance of flexible working arrangements – including home and hybrid working – in recruiting and retaining staff.
Potential benefits of home or hybrid working include improved work-life balance, reduced travel, increased productivity and the ability to recruit from a wider area.
However, the handbook says employers must also be aware of potential downsides, including isolation, loss of peer support, reduced access to training and development and ‘lack of visibility’ that could harm an individual’s career.
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