Flexible Working
At the Royal Free, our aim is to proactively encourage flexible working; we believe that it benefits everyone if people are able to achieve a positive work life balance.
We are proud to be the first Timewise Accredited NHS Trust and are advocates of the value of flexible working.
We welcome flexible working across all job roles from point of hire to support your work-life balance.
Royal Free London principles for flexible working
We are a 24-7 organisation and need to match the needs of our service with the needs of our people
We are committed to helping everyone achieve a healthy worklife balance
We are happy to consider requests for flexible working, whatever the reason
We recognise flexible working will not look the same for everyone – because it depends on the nature of the role and the needs of the individual
We want everyone to be able to access some kind of flexibility – on where, when or how much they work
Flexible working can be formal or informal – much of it is down to individuals to agree with their line managers
We want managers to look for reasons to say yes and think creatively about how to make this possible for people.
Types of flexible working
Part-time – working less than 37.5 hours per week
Off-site/remote working – working at home or other sites for part or all of the working week
Job sharing – two part-time employees sharing the work and pay of a single role
Compressed hours – usually full-time hours but over fewer days, for example a 9 day fortnight
Staggered hours – having different start and finish times
Royal Free London vision for flexible working
Depending on the needs of your role, we will help you achieve this through:
Considering requests for flexible or part time working, from point of hire, for whatever reason you want it
Use of self-rostering for rostered roles: to allow you to choose when you work and when you don’t work
Being flexible about where or when you work for those in non rostered roles: e.g. working remotely or flexing your start and finish time
Having regular conversations with you about your working pattern, to ensure as your needs change, your working pattern can too.
Benefits of flexible working
Flexibility to better meet family and personal needs
Reduced commuting time and expenses
Have more control over your time schedule and working environment
Can work during the hours that fit your energy cycles best
It can create space for your health and wellbeing
It enables better work-life balance
Support for flexible working
Our aim is to match your needs with the needs of where you work. We want to help support all staff to find ways of working which suits them most.
Flexible working will look different for everyone. We want each member of staff to work with their line manager to find a balance of what works best for you.
It will be unique to the role and individual, and will take account of:
When: You need to work to be able to do your job e.g. the time and hours required
Where: You can work e.g. location, remotely or at regular work base
How: you work from a range of flexible working options e.g. part-time working, compressed hours, flexitime, job sharing
