Flexible working options

Balancing your work with the rest of your life is something with which we all struggle. The way our working life is organised will have a profound impact on how we manage our lives outside of our job.

If you're finding your work is having a dramatic impact on the rest of your life, don't worry. There are solutions. More and more employers are working with their staff to find the right fit for everyone – regardless of age, gender or personal circumstances.

The most common reasons for choosing flexible working are:

Childcare
Further education or training
Care of relatives or dependents, elderly, disabled or otherwise
Health (including mental) or disability
Transport /distance from work

The good news is that hospitality, with its round-the-clock requirements and the tendency towards shift working, is one of the most flexible industries you can work in.

What are the options?

There are loads of ways you can make your working hours more flexible. You might want to take elements of these alternatives and tailor a solution that suits your own situation. Or you may come up with something completely new!

Flexi-time means you can vary your starting and finishing times each day. Employers give workers a choice of perhaps three time slots, for example, 8am-4pm, 9am-5pm or 10am-6pm. Although with the range of different operating hours within hotels, bars, pubs and restaurants, this will vary wildly from company to company.

Other companies are more fluid, allowing workers to clock in at any time within reason, as long as a full shift is completed. It can apply to both full-time and part-time workers. This pattern of working is generally adopted in office- or admin-based jobs rather than service roles, as timing and punctuality are crucial for the smooth running of a restaurant, for instance.

Staggered hours let you have different start, finish and break times. Hospitality employers use staggered hours as a way of covering longer opening hours and to make sure busy times, like lunch, are well-staffed. It's a good opportunity to offer people more flexibility and alll employees to negotiate within the team to find times suitable for each member.

Time off in lieu is a more informal arrangement than flexi-time. Employees agree with managers to take leave at a mutually convenient time to make up for extra hours worked. This will usually be when you've covered someone else's shift due to staff shortage or sickness.

Compressed working hours allow you to work your total number of agreed hours over a shorter number of working days. Hotel workers often find this suits them, as the 24-hour life of a hotel means they can cover a lot of hours in one go. You could also find it useful if you work part-time.

Shift working is necessary for any hospitality business that needs staff outside of the general 9-5 shift. Traditionally, working shifts are very structured, but there are opportunities to work part time in shifts of anything from four to eight hours.

If you work as part of a large team, you may not get the opportunity to decide which shifts you work. However, shift swapping means employees can negotiate working times to suit their needs and re-arrange shifts among themselves or within teams - provided the needs of the business or service are met.

Self rostering gives team members more control over their work times. Management will set the number of staff and the skill mix required during each working day. You then put forward the times you'd like to work and times you can't work. Shift patterns are compiled, matching as closely as possible the individual preferences of staff to the agreed staffing levels.

Annual hours systems organise working time on the number of hours worked over a year rather than a week. Hospitality employers need to have flexibility in the way working times are organised to accommodate the seasonal ebbs and flows of the industry, so annual hours can work well in this situation.

Part time work simply means working less than a normal full time pattern, whether it's only a couple of hours or something like 30-35 hours.

You'll find a lot of part time hospitality jobs on Caterer.com because the industry has to respond to busy times like lunch, dinner, evenings and weekends. Typical part-time hospitality jobs will include bar jobs and restaurant jobs.

Part time workers are now entitled to the same treatment as full-time employees in terms of rights, including the same hourly rate of pay.

Term-time working means you can remain on a permanent full- or part-time contract, but you can take unpaid leave lasting between seven and nine weeks during the school holidays. If you want any more than that, you'll have to negotiate with your employer or use holiday entitlement.

Term-time working is great if you've got kids at school or if you're a student and want to top up your income while you're at college.

Job sharing involves two or more people working part time to carry out the duties of a full time position, with the pay, holidays and benefits divided between them.

There are many different ways of job sharing. Some choose to divide the job equally and are trained in all aspects, whereas others concentrate on specific projects, skill sets or client groups. Whatever practical arrangement is agreed, it's generally a good idea to allow for some overlap period.

Working from home has become easier with the new and cost effective technology available. If you're a hotel inspector, for instance, you'll be working in the field a lot, and it may be easier to base yourself at home instead of head office.

Working from home can be a permanent or part-time arrangement, or done on an ad hoc basis. However, due to the industry's prevalence of customer-facing jobs, most hospitality workers will have limited options for working from home.

Temping or casual work involves working for an employer for short periods, usually in busy seasonal times like Christmas or summer. This way of working is great if you're looking to earn while you wait for another job opening, or if you're in education and want extra cash during holiday times.

For others, it gives flexibility without the commitment of a permanent job. Many companies now offer employment benefits such as sickness pay if you fulfil the basic requirements.

Changing working patterns

There can be real advantages for both you and your employer if you can find a good solution to adapting your work pattern. You're much more likely to succeed if both sides approach the situation with a willingness to listen and work together. Remember, there are a lot of options available, and your employer might also have some great ideas you may not have considered. Always be prepared to compromise. After all, that's what flexibility's all about.