What is a Flexible Working Request?
Where organisations encourage a better work-life balance, flexible working arrangements such as flexible work hours and telecommuting are sometimes allowed. For employees with family responsibilities, the employer has legal obligations to consider and accommodate their employees’ requests within reasonable means. Failure to do so may amount to direct or indirect discrimination under the various anti-discrimination ordinances in Hong Kong, including the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 527) and Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 480).
The document, therefore, serves as a tool for employees to make such requests. It may also be used for employees without family responsibilities who want to maintain a better work-life balance.
Key points included
When drafting a Flexible Working Request, it is important to focus on a number of key clauses, in particular:
- Details of the company;
- Details of the employee;
- Type of flexible work arrangement requests made by the employee;
- Reasons for the requests; and
- Duration of the arrangement.
