Flexible Working Policy

12. Trial Periods

Trial periods can help both the employee and line manager test a particular working pattern to see if it works out to the satisfaction of both parties.

In some circumstances, especially when caring for an adult, a permanent change may not be the best solution e.g. an employee suddenly becomes the carer of an adult with a terminal illness, the line manager may consider a temporary flexible working arrangement, agreed informally outside the formal procedure, or agree to a time limited change after which the employee reverts to the original pattern. Please see the Authority’s Carer’s Leave Policy.

Trial periods can potentially happen at two stages before a formal agreement is reached:

• The line manager could give informal agreement to a trial before a formal flexible working request has been made by the employee; if this happens, the formal procedure is still available to the employee at some stage in the future.

or

• If a formal application is made, an extension of the time for an employer to decide could be agreed and the trial period could happen before a final agreement takes place; in this case the rest of the formal procedure would still be available to the employee.

Trial periods or temporary arrangements should be for no longer than six months, at which point the employee should either revert to their original working pattern or the new flexible working arrangement should become a permanent change to their contract.