Routes to Work South
Employee surveys informed Routes to Work South that flexible working was important to its team. As a result, over 34 per cent of employees, 75 per cent of the management team and 66 per cent of co-ordinators now work flexibly.
Managers are supported to facilitate flexible working where possible and to be creative with their management solutions. This enables employees to deliver the service while achieving a good work-life balance. Employee feedback shows that the people friendly policies help to retain staff.
All policies are termed ‘family and people policies’ in order to include employees who are not parents. Parents are given the flexibility to attend school events or appointments specifically with their children as paid leave and paid leave is also offered when children are off sick. There are clear future plans to develop family friendly policies which include becoming an accredited Living Wage employer, achieving the Healthy Working Lives bronze award and offering shared maternity/parental leave within 12 months.
Illuminating Ideas
- Parents are offered paid time off when their children are ill.
- Good maternity provision helps to retain staff.
- 34 per cent of employees and 66 per cent of co-ordinators utilise flexible working.
The Judges’ Spotlight
“This is a solid example of family friendly working. It is a small organisation that thinks about everybody’s lives outside of work. They have clear objectives that they want to achieve. Their maternity provision is particularly good for the sector. It can be a challenge for delivery organisations to pay the Living Wage, but they are working towards becoming accredited within 12 months.”
‘I have been able to condense my hours to work a four-day week, and at other times to change my working hours over a five-day week to allow me to collect my daughter from school and work from home. It helps me achieve a real work-life balance and this is more important than any remuneration benefit.’
– Employee