Flexible friend

Today, Aylesbury Vale delivery office manager, Bernard Zend, who is chair of the Home Counties North diversity and inclusion network, talks about the importance of being creative around flexible working in the workplace.

‘When I came to Aylesbury Vale there were a lot of women seeking flexible working arrangements due to childcare commitments,’ he said. ‘We sat down with each member of staff and discussed what it was they required and why.

‘At first, I was a bit hesitant about rearranging people’s schedules due to any possible disruption to the office, but after looking at people’s individual circumstances, I realised how vital it is that colleagues are supported in the right way to allow them to balance their home and work lives as working mums and carers.

‘After thinking it over, I realised that with just a little effort, we could still achieve all the business needs while supporting colleagues who needed to work flexibly. Together with my CWU rep, we created a new working pattern that supported our working mums without disrupting our service to customers.

‘Some examples of the types of flexible working arrangements we were able to realise include the below:

• Postwoman 1 - comes in for two hours and then takes her child to school. She then comes back and does her delivery three days a week, rotating with postwoman 3
• Postwoman 2 - comes in late and works later so she can help her child get to school. Her husband picks up their child to support the flexible working arrangement
• Postwoman 3 - comes in for two hours and then takes her child to school. She then comes back and does her delivery three days a week, rotating with postwoman 1
• Postman 1 - looks after his mother on Saturdays
• Part-time postwoman on a 27-hour contract - requested to have her duty moved to a Saturday due to childcare commitments. Her duty has been combined with postman 1
• Postman 2 - moved to three days a week for flexible working
• Postwoman 4 - works three days part-time to help her sick mother. She shares her duty with postman 2.
• Postwoman 5 - supported with regular Wednesdays off to allow her to complete a dog grooming course to start her own business, and with a regular day off on Tuesday to book her dog grooming sessions.

‘I’m really proud of the fact that with a little effort and teamwork, we can help colleagues with flexible working arrangements. The fact that we work for a business, which supports us in striving for the right values and ideals, definitely helps.’

Balancing act

Many of our people balance parental and caring responsibilities with their career. Our Parents & Carers steering group aims to help colleagues with caring responsibilities balance these duties with their day-to-day working life. They can help direct you to where you can obtain support with formal flexible working requests and approvals as well as advice on the types of flexible working available.

To contact the group, please email: Parents.and.Carers@Royalmail.com. Similarly, if you would like to join the group or you have any positive stories about how you as a parent or carer have been supported by the business, please get in touch!