Flexible working: Why the government should butt out

There has been a lot of talk about flexible working lately. Work Wise UK, the not-for-profit organisation which promotes smarter working practices, tells us up to five million people chose not to go to their office, factory, warehouse or shop last Thursday to celebrate National Working from Home Day.

But the fact it many people work flexibly as a matter of course anyway and small business owners are a hell of a lot better at offering home working, teleworking, mobile working or virtual teamworking than their larger counterparts.

The fact is entrepreneurs running SMEs have far less of the management structures which hold back change among big corporate business to deal so as a result often have a much happier and less stressed workforce.

Taking a casual, open approach is why it works. Employers understand their responsibility and employees understand theirs. Through good communication staff are not tempted to abuse the system and make stupid demands, while bosses are willing to accommodate individual circumstances. If not, they'll soon see workers going elsewhere.

But when regulation gets involved, the whole process goes belly-up. That's why the government's decision to extend the right to flexible working to parents of children up to the age of 16 is wrong.

Before you start excusing me of supporting bullying employers, I'm in no way saying that all workers shouldn't be allowed to vary their hours, perform their duties in a home office or opt for going part-time. Of course they should; embracing this approach to work benefits everybody.

But what I am saying is that legislators shouldn't get involved. As soon as something is made a 'legal right' people think 'hang on, I'm missing out here' and may start demanding stuff they may not actually really want. Big businesses can accommodate that; most small businesses can't.

The warnings have already started. Law firm Stephens & Scown said today that SMEs should brace themselves for a possible rush of employment tribunal cases. Great. Just what entrepreneurs need on top of all the other rules and regulations they have to deal with.

In the government press release outlining the new flexible working laws, ministers acknowledged that small businesses are much better at offering flexibility to their staff than big employers. Exactly. That's the point. Entrepreneurs running small firms are doing it already and are doing it well. Throwing legality into the mix could force many to decide to not take on more staff which will hinder their business growth. And who on earth wants that to happen?