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The Business Case for Flexible Working Hours

The Business Case for Flexible Working Hours
Wednesday, June 13, 2018

When you open up flexible working hours as a possibility to your employees, are you just giving them more time off? Or are you creating new possibilities for your business? Allowing your workforce the freedom to decide how and when they work can come in a variety of different ways – and they have a variety of different benefits too.

In this article, Panthera will explain how using flexible working hours can improve your business.

What is flexible working?

Flexible working is, generally speaking, a work pattern outside the normal 9-5. Usually, you and your staff will decide between you which hours they work. It’s normally offered to either provide a boost to your employee numbers during busy seasons or to provide alternative ways to use the talent in your business.

Types of flexible working

Here are 4 common ways that employers implement flexible working into their businesses:

1. Part-time working

This should be a familiar concept to you. This is where you create a contract with your employer to work a certain number of hours a week, usually to a set schedule. This can be effectively used for specialised roles in your business who you may only need a few days a month, such as an in-house IT technician.

2. Location independence

This is where you allow your employees to work from home, or wherever else they choose. Naturally, not every industry is suited to allowing this sort of working. If you do have a role that can be completed from home, flexible working can be used to offer your staff more hours if space is at a premium in your office and to allow employees to fulfil family and other care duties.

3. Flexi-time contracts

These contracts normally contain a certain amount of core hours that are set to a specific schedule (typically around 50%) with the rest of the working hours being completed when you, the employer, chooses.

4. Compressed hours

This works by taking the amount of hours that an employee works in a week, and putting them all into fewer days. For example, working 20 hours in 4 days instead of 5. This can be used to fit work around an employee’s other responsibilities while the business remains as productive as it was without them.

What are the benefits of flexible working?

Flexible working will not only be a more desirable choice for many of your employees but your business as a whole can gain from implementing some of these working ideas.

Higher levels of employee satisfaction

Flexible working hours allow your employees a greater work/life balance. They shouldn’t have to stress about sticking to a restrictive schedule. Flexible working hours could allow them to rearrange their schedule if they have something planned, as opposed to asking for time off months in advance.

Lower staff turnover

A by-product of high employee satisfaction is lower staff turnover rates. Your employees will be less inclined to leave if they are more comfortable in their roles. Not every workplace will offer these kinds of benefits to their staff which can mean that they will think twice before leaving your company.

Higher productivity and new business possibilities

Allowing people to work when it suits them means that you will only be getting the best of your employees. Naturally, this will mean that their productivity will increase. You will also be able to provide your services for longer during the day if your staff prefer to work during those hours. This can be especially important when dealing with areas such as customer service.

We can help

If you would like to discuss how you can budget for flexible working hours in your business, contact our team. Not only will we be able to make sure that your cash flow is stable enough for this move, but we can also make you tax efficient in the process.

Call us today on 01235 768 561 or drop us an email to enquiries@pantheraaccounting.com – we’ll be back in touch with you shortly.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

For us, there is nothing better than a happy customer. Here are just a few that let us know how much we mean to them.

Pete Dungey

Simple, efficient and most importantly, hassle-free.

We found Panthera via our search for a Xero expert. We knew the software we wanted to use, and needed a forward-thinking accountancy partner who could get us up and running, and teach us the ropes moving forward. Tory and her team have always been on hand to answer our questions, and help us to grow as a business, particularly during periods of big change, such as becoming VAT registered. They are always on hand to alleviate any concerns and help to keep our records in order, which makes our year-end accounts an absolute breeze! Being based in Bristol, our relationship is entirely email based, alongside one consolidation meeting at year end - this keeps things simple, efficient and most importantly, hassle-free.

Pete Dungey | Kaleido Grafik Limited
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The support and service we receive from Panthera Accounting is very good. Everything from regular meetings, a prompt e mail response and the transition of our Xero software (which we find very pro active indeed) has and is all remarkably efficient. We find Panthera talk our language and make any process as painless and easy as possible.

Anita van Eijndhoven | Quidne-IT
Ash & Tim Lane

Panthera brush aside the stereotype of the typical accountant

We got in touch with Panthera Accounting by way of a recommendation; we haven't looked anywhere else since. They are an extremely professional yet relaxed group of people. We were slightly daunted by the idea of accountants but Panthera brushed aside y the stereotypes. They are very understanding when answering any questions we may have. They are completely efficient, offer sound business advice, and are fantastically priced. We will continue to recommend them.

Ash & Tim Lane | Starveacre Fencing
Jayne Johnson

An Asset to my Business!

The whole team at Panthera are great! Working with them has been a huge support to my growing business. They help me to understand the numbers I need to know. They give me technology solutions like Xero so that I can process things quickly and have access to my own figures. They are quick to reply, highly knowledgeable, nothing is too much trouble and as well as making sure that everything is compliant and on time, they are enthusiastic, professional and fun to work with.

Jayne Johnson | Better People
John Baker

Absolute joy - they provide a first class service on every level

Working with Tory and the team at Panthera is an absolute joy - they provide a first class service on every level; from simple Xero issues through to more complicated tax enquiries, they’re always on-hand to help me get it right. I’m certainly not their biggest customer, but I’m always made to feel like their most important one.

John Baker | BKR Solutions
John Castle

Professional and Friendly

I would like to say that Panthera Accounting have helped me with my business accounts for more than 4 years now. They have consistently offered an excellent competitively priced service that works both professionally and in such a friendly way that I would highly recommend them to everyone considering using their services.

John Castle | Ilexanna Limited & Birch Castle Homes Limited
Jonathan Morrison

They are always there to answer queries and sort out issues

I had been with Mr Dunn for 20 years when upon his death Panthera took over the business. They now play a bigger part in the running of my business, they do all the stuff that has to be done but I don't like doing ie book keeping, VAT, wages, and returns. They are always there to answer queries and sort out issues and make sure all Tax deadlines are met. Their costs are fair, service is great and I have and would highly recommend them.

Jonathan Morrison | Wallingford Builders
Pippa Scott

Professional, friendly and personal service.

Panthera Accounting have gone above and beyond the call of duty to guide and support our Company. They offer a professional, friendly and personal service that can take the stressful and sometimes frightening feelings out of running a business. They have guided us through the working of Xero and have offered “teaching sessions” on the day to day running of the accountancy package. Our only regret is that we didn’t join their team earlier.

Pippa Scott | Scott's Commercial Services Limited
Sara Southey

Panthera puts the personal back in to accountancy!

Tory and her team have provided a friendly, approachable and helpful service from the start. They have delivered a quality service, above and beyond anything I could have expected. Panthera, with the help of the Xero package, have taken the stress, strain and confusion out of managing my company and personal accounts. I look forward to working with them for many years to come.

Sara Southey | Bluestones Garden Design
Tracey Miller

Panthera are fantastic.

Panthera are fantastic. Always professional, going the extra mile for their clients and delivering superb service. I recommend them all the time to my clients.

Tracey Miller | Bigger, Brighter, Bolder BBB

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