Written by our assessment team: what the criteria mean in practice, the evidence that works, and where learners get caught out.
What this unit is really about
Unit 314 is a small unit — 4 credits, seven criteria — and it is one of the easiest to evidence if your team already works flexibly in any form. Note the framing: LO2 asks you to support the management of flexible working in your own team by adapting working practices, monitoring effectiveness and reviewing arrangements. You are not being asked to write policy.
"Flexible working" is also broader than home working, and a portfolio that treats the two as synonyms will look thin. It includes part-time hours, job shares, compressed hours, annualised hours, flexitime, staggered starts, term-time-only working, shift swapping, phased retirement and hybrid patterns. If your team does any of these, you have a subject.
The evidence that works
| Learning outcome | Evidence that works well |
|---|
| LO1 — understand flexible working | The key principles of your organisation's policy, the types of arrangement available, an honest account of benefits and limitations, and the rights and responsibilities on both sides |
| LO2 — support management in own team | The practices you adapted — rotas, handovers, meeting times, coverage rules, communication norms — plus your monitoring data and a review of how well the arrangements are working |
The most useful single artefact is a before-and-after of a working practice. The team went to two home days a week, so the handover moved from a corridor conversation to a written log; the Monday briefing moved to 09:30 so part-time staff could attend; cover rules changed so no shift relies on one person being reachable. Show the old practice, the change and its effect.
Getting the rights criterion right for Great Britain
Criterion 1.4 covers rights and responsibilities, and this is an area that changed recently, so accuracy matters:
- Employees have the right to request flexible working — not a right to have it granted
- Since April 2024 the right applies from day one of employment, there is no requirement to explain the effect of the request, and employees may make two requests in any 12 months
- The employer must consult the employee and decide within two months, and may only refuse for one of the eight statutory business reasons
- Responsibilities run both ways: the employee must still meet objectives and stay contactable as agreed, and the employer must not treat flexible workers less favourably — a real risk with part-time staff and promotion or development access
Naming the eight business grounds and connecting them to a decision you were involved in is the strongest way to evidence this criterion. If you have not handled a request, the honest route is to describe your policy's process and reflect on an arrangement you inherited instead.
For 2.2 and 2.3, monitoring means something measurable — coverage gaps, output, response times, meeting attendance, team feedback — and reviewing means a judgement with a recommendation, not just observation.
Useful reading
