This Flexible Working Toolkit has been put together to help you, whether as employee or manager, understand the value of effective flexible working. The views of colleagues across the School have contributed to these pages - to produce what is hopefully a logical and straightforward process for considering, requesting and managing flexible working arrangements. The toolkit contains five numbered sections that are designed to be followed in order, although of course not every stage will apply to every process - for example, some arrangements can be agreed informally without the need for formal stages.
Why follow a process for flexible working?
There are some very good reasons for following a set process when it comes to requesting and considering flexible working. Of course, one reason is the School's obligations, as an employer, to respond to formal flexible working requests within particular timeframes. More than this, following a set process is a way of making sure that staff across the School have a consistent experience of flexible working, and that everyone involved in a flexible working process understands what is expected of them.
How are these pages kept up to date?
This toolkit is monitored by HR and is reviewed regularly to make sure that it is in line with best practice and is in line with related guidance around the School.
Please contact humanresources@lse.ac.uk if you have any comments or suggestions about how these pages could be improved.
Want to find out more?
There are a number of useful external resources that shed light on different aspects of flexible working. The UK government's guidelines provide a useful statutory context for flexible working requests and what is expected of the School as an employer.
If you are interested in how flexible working can support a better balance of work and caring responsibilities, the School is a member of Working Families, the UK's premier work-life balance organisation. The Working Families website contains a wealth of useful advice, including a toolkit which can be used to identify how a particular role could be suitable for flexible working as well as how to frame employee-manager discussions.