Inclusion and Wellbeing Champion Forum: Flex Forward UK

Audience

This online event is open to Business in the Community (BITC) Gender, Inclusion, Race and Wellbeing Champions.

About this event

Join BITC to explore what’s working and what’s breaking down in UK workplaces regarding flexible working.

We will be discussing flexible working in the context of fairness across life stages, roles and demographics, addressing the importance of transparency and clear criteria, and learning about how to use data to track outcomes and evidence success. We will focus on both challenges and benefits, considering how best to shift stigma and influence employers to embed flexible working for all into their operating models.

This Champion Forum will share expert-led evidence on flexible working policy and practice and provide space to discuss, with other BITC Inclusion Champions, the barriers to flexible working in practice and explore where flexibility can still be less accessible. We will also share details of recent changes in legislation, including the new Employment Rights Act, to ensure that you are fully up-to-date. Regardless of your sector, operating model or maturity in this area, we would love you to join us.

This event will…

• Explore how challenges to implementation and inconsistent flexible working practice are driving inequality across gender, age and race, and how flexible work can support your employees to shape inclusive work that works for them.
• Look at how to ensure changes to flexible working policy and practice reflect current legislative frameworks and are focused on equity, wellbeing, transparency and cultural evolution.
• Facilitate shared best practice learning and discussion to support implementation and evaluation of flexible working across your business.

BITC’s work on Flexible Working

Despite flexible working being increasingly important and valuable to employees, it still carries a stigma associated with low pay, low productivity and slow progression. Inconsistencies in access to flexible working are worsening gender, disability, low-income and role-type inequalities. In the BITC Gender Campaign’s flagship The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality listing, flexible work remains one of the challenging areas for business progress.

Drawing on research with our members, and in collaboration with BITC member Standard Life Group, our Inclusive Flexible Working Toolkit identifies the benefits of flexible working for both employers and employees, and outlines practical steps employers can take to build inclusive, flexible working cultures for all.

About BITC’s Inclusion and Wellbeing Campaigns

We want to create an inclusive, gender-equal working world where everyone, regardless of gender, race or age, can flourish.

Our Gender Equality Campaign exists to accelerate this progress towards a gender-equal future and encourage UK business to unlock the value of gender equality for all. We believe that UK businesses have the power and responsibility to progress gender equality and stand firm in the ethic and economic importance of a workplace where all genders can thrive.

BITC’s Wellbeing Campaign and BITC Workwell model positions thriving people at the heart of organisational purpose, culture and business strategy, providing a framework for an intersectional, inclusive and people-first approach.

To support you, our Advisory Services team can help you in planning and implementing action.

Booking, contact details and further information

• Contact events@bitc.org.uk at BITC for further information.

• Full joining instructions will be sent before the event.