Flexible Working in the NHS: Your Rights and What It Does to Your Pay

Flexible working is one of the main reasons people stay in the NHS, and one of the main reasons people leave when it is refused. Since April 2024 the law has given every employee the right to ask for it from their first day, and the NHS terms and conditions build on that. This guide explains the process and, just as importantly, what each pattern does to your pay.

Your right to request flexible working

Under employment law in Great Britain, since 6 April 2024:

• you can make a request from your first day in a job
• you can make two requests in any 12-month period
• your employer must make a decision within two months of your request, including any appeal, unless you agree to extend it
• your employer must consult you before refusing
• a refusal must be for one of eight business reasons set out in law

The eight reasons are: the burden of extra costs, a harmful effect on meeting customer demand, being unable to reorganise work among existing staff, being unable to recruit extra staff, a harmful effect on quality, a harmful effect on performance, not enough work during the periods you propose to work, and planned structural changes.

The NHS terms and conditions have their own flexible working section that adds to this, for example a right to appeal a refusal. Your trust's policy sets out the local process.

Types of flexible working in the NHS

• Part-time hours: fewer hours a week, for example 30 instead of 37.5.
• Compressed hours: full-time hours over fewer days, such as 37.5 hours over four days.
• Annualised hours: a total number of hours a year, worked in a flexible pattern.
• Self-rostering and team-based rostering: staff choose shifts within agreed rules.
• Term-time working: working during school terms only, with pay spread across the year.
• Fixed shifts or fixed days: for example, no nights or no Wednesdays.
• Hybrid or home working for roles where it is practical.
• Flexible retirement: reducing hours or stepping down a band before retirement.

What each pattern does to your pay

Part-time hours

Pay, leave and public holidays are all pro rata. For a Band 6 at entry:

Notice that dropping from 37.5 to 30 hours cuts gross pay by 20% but take-home pay by only about 16%. That is because less of your pay is taxed, and your pension contribution tier drops from 9.8% to 8.3% at 30 hours. The part-time pay calculator shows the figures for any pattern.

If you work extra hours as a part-timer, hours up to 37.5 a week are paid at plain time. Only hours above 37.5 are paid at overtime rates.

Compressed hours

Your pay does not change because your total hours stay the same. Leave and public holidays are usually converted to hours, so a 9.375-hour day off uses 9.375 hours of leave rather than 7.5.

Term-time working

You are paid for the hours you work across the year, spread evenly in 12 monthly payments, so you have an income in the school holidays. Annual leave is usually built into the holiday weeks.

What happens to your pension

The NHS Pension is career average. Working part time means you build pension in proportion to your actual pay in those years, and you pay contributions at the tier that matches your actual pay. Going part time for a few years does not reduce the pension you built while full time.

How to make a strong request

1. Be specific. State the pattern, start date and whether it is permanent or for a fixed period.
2. Think like the rota coordinator. Explain how your shifts or work could be covered.
3. Offer a trial period. Three to six months lets both sides test the arrangement.
4. Ask for a meeting. Discussing it is often quicker than writing back and forth.
5. Keep a copy of everything, and note the date you submitted the request.

If your request is refused

Ask for the reason in writing, and check that it is one of the eight lawful reasons. Use the appeal process in your trust's policy, and involve your union representative if you have one. You can make a new request, for a different pattern, later in the year.

Common questions

Do I need to give a reason? No. You can request flexible working for any reason, although explaining your circumstances can help your manager find a solution.

Will part-time hours affect my pay step? No. Pay step dates are based on time in the band, not hours worked.

Does flexible working affect my leave? Leave is pro rata to your hours and worked out in hours, so you get the same proportion of time off as full-time colleagues. The annual leave calculator shows your entitlement.

Try your own pattern

Use the part-time pay calculator to compare your current hours with the pattern you are thinking of requesting.