At Vodafone UK, our approach to flexible working consists of policies and working practices that help people thrive. When we came out of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, we launched Future Ready, our flexible way of working across the business, making flexibility and trust core principles of the way we worked.

This approach has continued to evolve, going beyond just offering people the ability to work from home to supporting employees through different life stages, both inside and outside of work – whether that be in their caring responsibilities, health challenges, or a breadth of personal reasons.

We’re committed to creating a working environment that allows everyone to thrive and ensures that we are encouraging all talent to join Vodafone. This is why we are in support of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act that was introduced earlier this year.

We have supported the flexible working principles included in the Act for some time. Since 2023, for example, we have allowed employees to request flexible working arrangements from day one – and up to twice in a 12-month period – instead of needing two years of service to make requests. We also offer a range of practices to allow people to work in a way that best suits them where possible, including sabbaticals, flexible locations, job shares, and part-time work.

We also have a hybrid working model of eight days in the office each month to ensure people can still come together to connect and learn but are also able to balance this with out-of-work commitments. For us, where there’s not a strong business need to have teams in-office five days a week, we’ve seen the benefits of a more flexible approach and will continue to build on that.

For employees whose role is not dependent on being at a specific site all of the time, our working abroad policy allows them to operate from a different country for up to 20 days a year.

This policy came about following the pandemic when after 15 months of working virtually, many of our people saw the value in extended remote working. Today, it gives people a chance to visit family and friends, or just balance work and travel. In 2023 alone, nearly 7% of the Vodafone UK workforce (without counting our Vodafone Group UK colleagues) made use of this policy, and we expect this to continue to grow.

We trust our people to work remotely and see how beneficial this can be to our employees’ wellbeing and work-life balance.

Our range of broader policies reflects this development of flexibility, and they have been designed with inclusivity front of mind.

For example, our Paternity, Maternity, and Adoption Leave policies allow all primary carers, whether it is the birthing partner, the primary carer in an adoption, or a parent through surrogacy, to be eligible to receive a total value of 26 weeks’ full pay, paid over a 39-week period. In 2023 alone, 9% of our Vodafone UK employees were able to benefit from this policy. On return, both primary and secondary carers can then work 80% of their hours, for six months, at full pay.

We also have a policy allowing employees experiencing the menopause to take leave for sickness and medical treatment, opt for flexible working, and access wider support. Even further, colleagues who are experiencing domestic violence and abuse can access up to 10 days of additional paid leave for anything relating to their situation, from legal attendings to medical appointments.