Time and Attendance Solutions Enable Flexible Working Conditions
As a provider of Time and Attendance systems, Synel helps many companies boost productivity and implement flexible working conditions for their employees. Historically this has been either hard for companies to achieve or companies might have been reluctant to try it.
However, it is becoming critical that the Government press ahead with plans to make flexible working available to all workers or else run the risk of creating a two-tier employment environment.
In its response to the consultation on Modern Workplaces, the Chartered Institute of Development and Personnel (CIPD) argued that businesses of all sizes can enjoy distinct benefits from flexible working.
Under Government plans, all employees will have the right to request flexible working packages by 2015.
These include flexible parental leave and equal pay rules, as well as the right to ask for alternative employment practices such as homeworking and flexi-time.
These practices are already very popular among local councils and other public sector employers. We are now finding more and more private sector employers adopting flexi-time and shared / part time jobs scenarios.
But the CIPD has countered by saying that flexible working be a genuine aid to running a progressive and efficient business operation.
Any exemption would impose a divide between larger and smaller firms, one that would place those smaller employers at a disadvantage.
Research by the CIPD has shown that over a half (54 per cent) of potential employees look for employers who provide a good pay and benefits package as opposed to job satisfaction.
Mike Emmott, the CIPD's employee relations adviser, said: "The truth is that many employers large and small have anticipated the Government's proposals and are willing to consider requests from any employee. They see the business benefits of helping employees balance their work with their personal commitments at a time when organisations need to be driving a competitive edge through their workforce.
We believe that the flexible working regulations are a great example of light-touch legislation and we see no case for excluding micro-businesses and start-ups when the regulations are extended. Excluding businesses of any size from the application of employment regulation would tend towards the creation of a two-tier labour market and could be a perverse disincentive for small businesses to expand."
Employers, large and small, find it difficult to cope with non standard working arrangement without the use of a computerised Time and Attendance system that can offer flexi-time and part time job arrangements.
Since the European Time Directives were introduced in 2003 the need to use a computerised Time and Attendance system is on the increase. Where in the past mechanical and electro mechanical clocks where adequate – now only a computerised Time and Attendance system can automatically calculate flexi-time with balances can be brought forward and annualised hours can be applied. This feature is especially important for businesses with seasonal fluctuations like hotels, food processes and the like.
Synel offers a range of Time & Attendance solutions to cope with the changing working environment. TimeLOG offers fully flexitime working agreements for small to medium size companies (25 – 500 employees) and Harmony is designed for medium to large companies with single and multi-site work places. The new Cloud Xactime from Synel offers companies full T&A solutions as hosted service (SAAS) with no initial investment in software or hardware. Pay-as-you-go offering enables the user to pay a monthly fee per active employee.
During these difficult times it is more critical than ever to control and improve the timekeeping of your workforce, but at the same time give your employees maximum flexibility.