| A short report on Wednesday’s busy event. Many thanks to Andy Crabb and his team of staff, including their expert drivers, for a prestige event at Porsche Centre Mid Sussex Our evening event attracted over 35 delegates, not surprising really when there was the opportunity to test drive such fabulous cars on the night. A completely different group of people networking this week compared to the site tour we held at one of Burgess Hill’s largest manufacturing facilities two weeks ago. We also had an opportunity to hear more from Andy Crabb, the dealer principal. They expect to be moving to their new site in early 2025. The current site, where they have been these past 20 years, stretches across 1.5 acres. The new site, close to Hickstead Showground, on the site of the old Friday Ad building, is 4.5 acres, and the new showrooms and facilities will be one of the largest Porsche dealerships in the UK. Apart from the Cayennes on offer for test drives, a sleek black Taycan was also available. Andy mentioned that globally the UK is one of the leading markets for this particular model. Following that, we welcomed Emma Cleary’s timely presentation about changes in employment law regarding flexible working. .  A lot of new faces at last night’s event, unfortunately I was so busy I overlooked to take some photos. Some have shared their selfies, with some familiar networking faces…but there were lots of new faces in the crowd as well.   The allure of driving a luxury high performance vehicle at night was a big draw.   |
| In her presentation Emma explained that the new law impacts everyone as an employee in widening their rights to flexible working. Importantly employers will need to re-calibrate their business management to accommodate these new employee rights.   Part of Emma’s presentation showed the infographic below, illustrating the myriad forms of flexible working and how it has become a growing and significant part of the employment landscape.  As Emma explained the amendments to the Employment Rights Act 1996 are expected to be implemented very soon: Transformative act anticipated to come into force by July 2024. Marks the onset of a new era of workplace flexibility. |
| Some questions to ask yourself: Are your flexible working arrangements future-proof? Is your approach to the Flexible Working law going to be reactionary or proactive? Are you treating flexible working as an HR-only matter or a company-wide matter? Is your management team on-board with flexible working? Have you defined the degree of flexibility you can offer to your employees? When was the last time you really asked the employees what they want? For a hybrid work set-up: Have you defined what the office space is for? Are your employee / leadership training materials suited for flexible working? Do you have the right technology to support flexible working? What do your job advertisements look like?    Emma Cleary Director and Founder of Flexibility Matters 07810 541599 www.flexibilitymatters.co.uk        |