Fair Work - economic inactivity: flexible working project report

3. Progress and Learning with WEEE Scotland (Circulus)

Circulus is a Glasgow-based circular economy business, formerly known as WEEE Scotland, which rebranded in early 2026 to reflect its expanded ambition beyond end-of-life recycling. The organisation works with businesses across the UK to extend the life of electronic and electrical equipment through repair, reuse, remanufacturing and secure lifecycle management, helping clients reduce waste, cut carbon and retain value in their assets. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Govan, Circulus now employs around 50–60 staff and continues to grow as demand for practical circular economy solutions increases

Work with WEEE Scotland focused strongly on frontline inclusion, particularly for recycling staff with limited prior access to flexibility. The repairs team recently had access to a compressed hours pattern: Mon- Thur to allow a half day off on a Friday. The desk-based team have some time based and location-based flex, although the approach was inconsistent, so we also did some focus group work to establish what other flexibility may be possible and how we could help shape greater flex for desk-based workers. The action here was to identify with the leadership team what elements of flexibility could be built into a new flexible working framework/ policy in the business and create and disseminate a refreshed approach to flex across the business.

Employee Engagement

We facilitated in-person sessions with:

• Members of the recycling team (7 people, representing 50% of the team)
• Representatives of desk-based workers (3 people- representing different areas of the business)

These sessions explored lived experience, opportunities and constraints, and helped surface practical options for flexibility in operational roles. We discussed what flexibility could mean within these roles and what options might work for them considering the workload. We created a staff and leadership survey to further inform our work, but due to a company re-structure, it was felt more appropriate to pause this piece of work.

Framework and Policy Development

Based on this engagement:

• Clear recommendations for new ways of working within the recycling team were developed and shared
• A draft flexible working framework and policy was produced and shared appropriate for all workers, and included some suggested changes and clarity for desk-based workers

Final progress was delayed due to a business restructure and rebrand. However we have committed to:

• Completing the final work within the recycling team pro bono. The first part of this is scheduled in for 4th May. It has been proposed already that the recycling team will reduce their hours slightly each week to ensure an early finish on a Friday to bring this in line with the repair part of the business. This is a huge change and will be beneficial to the team.
• Finalising the new policy/ framework ensuring leadership buy in for a new focus on flexible working across the business and including a more consistent flexible working approach for the desk-based workers.
• Helping the business to communicate all these changes in a clear, coherent and more joined up way.
• Providing follow-up manager support to embed new approaches. Timings and details of this training to be discussed and agreed with the project sponsor once the other actions are completed.

Update beyond 1st April: The recycling team have now also have compressed hours to allow the half day finish on a Friday. One individual could not meet the new earlier start time, so separate arrangements were made for him to keep the original hours which is working well for him and the business as he manages the shut down of the recycling plant.

Furthermore, the whole business has also gone now moved to a 37.5 hours working week, allowing staff to finish at 4pm Mon to Thurs and an earlier finish also on the Friday. This has been hugely beneficial for those commuting by road in particular.