The NHS People Promise is a national initiative intended to improve the experience of working in the NHS for everyone.
There are seven elements to the People Promise:
Organisations across the West Yorkshire Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism Collaborative are committed to retaining their experienced staff. We know that flexible working is valuable to people, enabling them to have a work/life balance that means they can stay in their jobs and progress in their careers.
People have a legal right to ask for flexible working, but don't always know how to find out what flexible working options are available at their place of work or how to apply for them.
Managers too aren't always aware of the options, or how flexible working can bring advantages to their service - it is cheaper to retain than the recruit and train new people, and retaining experienced staff protects and enhances diversity in teams, which leads to better patient care.
My name is Sara Munro and have been in post coming up to eight years now.
I am married and have two children aged 17 and 12. We live in Leeds though all my family are back in Salford which is where I am from. I have some caring responsibilities for my dad which has been the case now for about 20 years due to him having chronic health issues but since my mum died a couple of years ago this has increased. I was also the primary carer for my mum when she was diagnosed with cancer. This is all important to share because it’s the reason flexible working is so important to me.
What flexibility means to me:
Flexible working has massively helped my wellbeing because I don’t feel like I am having to make trade-offs between a job which is important with a lot of responsibility and which I love, and my family who I want to be present with at all the times that matter. In return I am comfortable with not having a set start and finish time, I just fit around to get stuff done when its needed. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to work this way when I need to and have a huge sense of loyalty to the organisation because of it (and other things of course).
Working flexibly can help others, especially where you have lots of responsibilities such as caring for others or want time to focus on your wellbeing – the way I do it is very flexible and I appreciate that may not suit everyone either, which is why as organisation we will continue to have different ways of helping people get the right hours/pattern for them and the job they do. Colleagues should be open to having healthy conversations on how they can work more flexibly as individuals and as a team.
Tell us your flexible working story - How long have you been working flexibly and what ways do you work flexibly?
I have been working flexibly since April and do not work on a Thursday. I decided to work flexibly as I wanted to volunteer at a hedgehog rescue but wanted to volunteer consistently and be more reliable. We agreed that the same day, one day a week would be extremely helpful to the rescue.
I first had a discussion with my ward manager about having the same day off once a week and whether this would be feasible. It was agreed that this would not affect the rota/staffing skill mix and I completed a flexible working form agreed by my ward manager. The process was extremely easy, and the form is very simple. I continue to work my full-time hours across a 24-hour service which includes nights and therefore, having the flexible working pattern does not disrupt the team but benefits myself entirely.
How has working flexibly benefitted you in your role and your wellbeing?
I have a passion for wildlife and having the opportunity to volunteer and fulfill this passion whilst been able to continue my fulltime role has improved my work-life balance and reduced stress. I am happier and content as I am able to do the things I enjoy and don’t have to worry about it disrupting work.
Would you recommend flexible working to others and why?
I would always recommend flexible working to everyone and encourage those people to do the things they love.
I’ve been working flexibly since I joined the team 17months ago. I work from home and on my “office days” I come in early, do 4 hours in office then have half an hour to get home, half an hour lunch, then I work the remaining 4 hours of my day from home.
A few more details on your experience - Why did you decide to work flexibly and how did you find the process to request/agree to flexible working? My working flexibly came about from a general wellbeing discussion with my manager – I was explaining the daily pain I experience and that working 8 hours in office was massively increasing this pain and meaning I was ending most days in tears. I had just been having a vent from my perspective, but my manager made suggestions about trialing a half day in office to lessen the pain I was experiencing. At this point I hadn’t even thought about changing my shift patterns to accommodate my needs. Suddenly I realised that flexible working could be a really useful tool for me to use in maintaining my health and wellbeing and to set me up for success in my new role. I felt empowered by this conversation with my manager to explore reasonable adjustments that would allow me to be as well as possible.
How has working flexibly benefitted you in your role and your wellbeing? This new shift pattern has been a game changer for me. It’s allowed me to be in control of my own health and wellbeing. I now have significantly fewer absences due to my disability and has allowed me to do my job to the best of my ability consistently and eventually, to me succeeding in finding a new role, which I’ll be starting later this month. Having a supportive manager who was solution orientated allowed us to create this shift pattern which I would otherwise not have realised was a possibility.
Would you recommend flexible working to others and why? I would recommend flexible working to everyone. The policy is there to be used and whether you have a disability, have children, or need to improve your work/life balance, working flexibly allows you to take control of your time and wellness and the more people choose to do so, the more others will feel comfortable to explore flexible working within their own teams.
Tell us your team’s flexible working story - How long has the team been working flexibly and what ways do they work flexibly? How did flexible working come about in your team?
The team has always worked flexibly, we have staff that work set days or days off, set shifts and specific preferences.
When I qualified as a nurse 24 years ago, I was lucky to have a manager that was interested in my wellbeing and was sensitive to my circumstances and preferences. Knowing that I could have every August bank holiday off to go a music festival was really important to me. When I became a parent, I couldn’t have balanced work and childcare without a set shift pattern, in fact I would have felt that I would have to go work somewhere else. At the time I just thought he was nice guy but would later come to realise he knew that staff were more likely to stay, work hard and be flexible where they could, if he was flexible with them. From my positive experience of having my wellbeing and passions cared about, I just continued to work in this spirit and wanted to offer my team the same experience.
How do you approach conversations around flexible working and how have you resolved any challenging requests or managed expectations within your team?
As we have built an environment that encourages open communication and talking about staff needs, the team have always been able to approach us with their flexible working requests.
We encourage all new starters to share their preferences and requests as part of their induction, as well as having an ongoing discussion as part of their formal supervision and that informal pastoral care we give one another. More challenging requests are managed by having an open and honest conversation about what is possible and trying to foster a culture of being accommodating and reasonable. There have been times when we haven’t been able to honour staff requests but even then we’ve tried to reach a compromise and negotiate a resolution. Of course, there has been times, due to the nature of our service and being fair to everyone, that we haven’t been able to accommodate a small amount of requests, but we review this on a case-by-case basis to try and make the process as fair as possible, which has been beneficial as staff who have previously had their request accepted are understanding in those times where we cannot accommodate.
How has working flexibly benefited you and your team?
It’s rather obvious and a cliché but flexible working helps us all keep a work life balance and because we apply the principle broadly, we all feel it’s fair. This in turn means that people are more content, are generally more flexible when they can be to the needs of our patients and ward. Although we face the same challenges as every team with regards to the recruitment of registered professionals, most of the team have worked here five years plus and a significant minority have worked here over a decade.
What would you recommend to others who are looking to offer flexible working but don’t know where to start/feel unsure about whether it is possible in clinical areas?
It is possible to be flexible in clinical areas for both formal and informal flexible working requests, as we have been working flexibly for a long time and our Band 6 does a great job of organising the rota to accommodate requests. The important step is to have a conversation with staff to understand what their needs are, what the service needs are and how we can manage this together. It’s about teamwork to find a balance.
Understandably we can immediately jump to what might go wrong with this kind of approach and think that we are forced to accommodate unrealistic and unreasonable requests. It would be better to think about how this could be fairly and equitably applied and to remind yourself that the vast majority of staff understand the care we have to provide, and they want to be part of delivering that care. Most staff want to and will be reasonable.
Since I have been in post, the team is aware that we support flexible working where we can. Generally, most requests come from people wanting flexibility to support their childcare commitments, but there are examples of reasons which are not linked to childcare which we accommodate, for example, one of our nurses volunteers at an animal sanctuary, so we agreed for her to have the same day off each week to support this.
Flexible working conversations happen either as part of supervision or just general conversation. It hasn’t been difficult to manage. I receive a request either via email or verbally and then have a conversation with the people who create the rotas to see if they can see any potential issues (there usually isn’t) and then I reply formally to the individual letting know I have agreed to this flexible working request and when we will review it. This has worked well for our team and has meant the approach to asking for flexibility has been straight forward.
Providing staff with flexible working creates a better work/home life balance for them and people are generally happier at work. Conversations I have had with staff have highlighted that they would have sought alternative employment where there was flexibility if we couldn’t support. We have been able to support our staff and as a result have retained some very experienced staff and their talents.
Working flexibly in a clinical area is possible. There may be times you need to decline it but as long as you clearly communicate the reasons why and that you are open to re-visit in the future, people in my experience are ok with this.
I started working flexibly in October 2023 when I joined a kickboxing gym and go there two evenings a week.
A few more details on your experience - Why did you decide to work flexibly and how did you find the process to request/agree to flexible working?
Initially, I had thought that due to my work commitments as a Nurse and the nature of my shift work, I would have to miss some of the kickboxing sessions. However, when I brought this up, my manager and the rota creator were, and continue to be supportive of allowing me to work flexibly around this. Work have always been flexible with requests I’ve made over the years, so I knew I could bring this up in a conversation and as I hoped, it wasn’t an issue at all.
My requests to have these two evenings off have been granted every week which has allowed me to create a more positive work-life balance, something that means a lot to me and makes me feel valued. It’s had a positive impact on my mental wellbeing as well as my fitness.
I think flexible working is beneficial to everyone, especially if there is something you want to pursue outside of work. It is important to balance both work life and personal life.
The Trusts and other organisations that make up our West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership recognise how important the voices of the people who work in them are. We want everyone to feel safe and confident to speak up, and we will take the time to really listen to understand the hopes and fears that lie behind the words.
We all feel safe and confident when expressing our views.
If something concerns us, we speak up, knowing we will be listened to and supported.
Our teams are safe spaces where we can work through issues that are worrying us.
If we find a better way of doing something, we share it.
We use our voices to shape our roles, workplace, the NHS, and our communities, to improve the health and care of the nation.
We take the time to really listen - beyond the words - to understand the hopes and fears that lie beneath them.
We help one another through challenges, during times of change, and to make the most of new opportunities.
NHS England aims to ensure everyone working within the NHS feels safe and confident to speak up. We encourage our NHS leaders to take the opportunity to learn and improve from those who speak up.
The service is free, confidential and impartial. Your concerns will be followed up and escalated where necessary.
Find out more about the NHS Freedom To Speak Up programme here.
Why contact your Freedom To Speak Up Guardian?
The Whistleblowing Helpline provides free and impartial advice for NHS employees. They can be contacted on 08000 724 725 or at www.speakup.direct
Contact your Freedom To Speak Up Guardian
If you work in one of the West Yorkshire Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Trusts, these are the contact details for the Freedom To Speak Up guardians in your workplace:
South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Email: guardian@swyt.nhs.uk
Telephone: 07795367197
Or write to:
FTSU Lead Guardian, Block 7, Fieldhead Hospital, Ouchthorpe Lane, Wakefield, WF1 3SP
You can also complete an e-form (anonymously, if needed)
Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust
Email: joe.cohen@bdct.nhs.uk
Contact no: 07885 984539
Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Email: shereen.robinson4@nhs.net
Call or text: 07980 959407
Training
There are three online Freedom to Speak Up eLearning packages currently available on the eLearning for Healthcare platform (Freedom to Speak Up - elearning for healthcare (e-lfh.org.uk). These training packages are aimed at all workers (Speak Up), Managers (Listen Up) and Senior leaders and board members (Follow Up).
Animation
This animation explains the Speak Up process and signposts to how to report.
Are you thinking about leaving the trust you work for?
We aren’t here to talk you out of it, but we can help you get support to stay, if that’s what you need. You can book a 30-minute slot with the independent People Promise Manager, Natalie Wong, who will listen to your reasons why you are thinking about leaving and give you a space to be open, honest and come to your own conclusions on what you think your next options are.
These are one-to-one, confidential conversations and will be held via MS Teams. They do not form part of any review, appraisal or personal development session. The conversation is not shared with your line manager.
Dates for each 'Chat with Nat' session and link to book:
Bradford District Care Trust: Tuesday 10th November 2024, 9am – 9pm. Scan the QR code or click the link - Book time with WONG, Natalie (LEEDS AND YORK PARTNERSHIP NHS FOUNDATION TRUST): Come have a chat with Natalie - BDCT • This link will expire on: January 01, 2025
Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust: Wednesday 4th December 2024, 9am-9pm. Scan the QR code or click the link - Book time with WONG, Natalie (LEEDS AND YORK PARTNERSHIP NHS FOUNDATION TRUST): Come have a chat with Natalie - LYPFT • This link will expire on: January 01, 2025
South West Yorkshire Trust: Monday 13th January 2025 - 9am - 9pm. Scan the QR code or click the link - Book time with WONG, Natalie (LEEDS AND YORK PARTNERSHIP NHS FOUNDATION TRUST): Come have a chat with Natalie - SWYT 13th January 25 • This link will expire on: January 13, 2025
