This article was last updated 0 months ago and may not represent current law.
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 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.
I was quoted in the press following the announcement.
All of this is now law. Since 6 April 2024 the right to request flexible working has been a day one right, where before an employee needed 26 weeks’ service.
The other changes to the right to request procedure were made by the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which started out as a Private Member’s Bill and took effect on the same date. These are:
- An employer must consult with the employee before rejecting a request.
- Employees can make two requests in a 12-month period instead of one.
- The period in which an employer must respond to a request is two months, down from three.
- Employees no longer have to specify how the employer might deal with the effects of the flexible working request.
More change is planned, as the Employment Rights Act 2025 adds a requirement that an employer’s refusal must be reasonable. That part isn’t in force yet, and the government has said it intends it to take effect in autumn 2027.
Written by Steven Mather, a business solicitor acting on company sales and purchases. This is general information about the law, not legal advice on your situation. Law correct as at .
