On 5 December 2022, the government issued a response to its September 2021 consultation on flexible working, Making flexible working the default. The responses received by the consultation broadly supported the proposed changes to the law and the government has now indicated areas of reform to the current statutory flexible working procedure. The underpinning principle is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to flexible working. The system must be based on employers and employees having constructive, open-minded conversations to find arrangements that work for all parties. The procedure remains a right to request flexible working, rather than a guarantee of flexible working.
Steven was quoted in the press following the announcement.
The government will introduce secondary legislation, when Parliamentary time allows, to make the right to request flexible working a day one right. No timeframe is indicated.
Primary legislation will be required to implement other changes to the right to request procedure. These are:
- Requiring an employer to consult with the employee if it is considering rejecting a request
- Permitting employees to make two requests in a 12-month period instead of one.
- Reducing the period in which an employer must respond to a request from three months to two months.
- Removing the requirement for employees to specify how the employer might deal with the effects of the flexible working request.
- The government has committed to supporting the Private Member’s Bill currently going through Parliament, the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill, which contains these provisions.
The government will develop enhanced guidance to raise awareness and understanding of how to make and administer temporary requests for flexible working. It will also issue a call for evidence to better understand how informal flexible working works in practice. The response does not contain a timeframe for these steps.