Flexible Working and Staff Retention in Healthcare

Conference notes that healthcare professions with predominantly female workforces continue to experience significant barriers to accessing flexible working arrangements, despite ongoing workforce shortages and increasing pressures on staff.

Conference believes that the refusal of reasonable flexible working requests contributes directly to the loss of experienced healthcare professionals, negatively impacting staff wellbeing, workforce retention, service delivery, and patient care.

Conference further notes the commitment within the Northern Ireland Good Jobs Bill to promote fair, flexible, and family-friendly employment practices and the opportunity this presents to strengthen workers' rights.

Conference asks that committee

1. Campaign for a statutory right to flexible working from day one of employment for all healthcare staff in Northern Ireland.
2. Call on healthcare employers to demonstrate clear and objective justification when flexible working requests are refused.
3. Challenge the Department of health NI to accurately publish how many flexible working requests they receive, numbers refused and approved and reasons for refusal
4. Lobby the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure the Good Jobs Bill incorporates robust protections and enforcement mechanisms for flexible working rights.
5. Promote flexible working as a key workforce retention measure to support experienced staff, particularly women, to remain in the healthcare workforce.