A survey from ACAS in January this year found that 70% of employees, and 43% of employers, were not aware of upcoming changes to the law intended to make it easier for employees to request flexible working. Since 6 April 2024, employees are now permitted to request flexible working from day 1 of their employment, can make two flexible working requests per year, and no longer need to explain the impact of their request on the business. Additionally, employers are required to make a decision within two months (reduced from three months previously) and consult with employees before declining a request.
We’ve updated our Q&A, documents and toolkits to reflect these changes; you should use our updated versions going forward, as well as checking that your own policies and processes are legally compliant.
Read on for more guidance on what flexible working is and how to deal with flexible working requests.
Flexible working: the basics
What is flexible working?
Flexible working describes any type of working arrangement other than a normal working pattern, which may involve a change to the number of hours worked (eg part-time working), the times of work (eg later or earlier start times) or the place of work (eg working from home).
There are a large number of working arrangements that could be described as flexible working and not all of them will, in practice, be suitable for your business. Some of the more common forms of flexible working include:
- Part-time working;
- Flexitime;
- Annualised hours;
- Job-sharing;
- Compressed hours;
- Home working or hybrid working;
- A change in shift, such as a move from a night to a day shift.
Who has the right to request flexible working?
Employees and apprentices have the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment. The right does not apply, however, if the staff member has made two or more formal flexible working requests to you during the preceding 12 months, whether or not a previous application related to the same issue and whether or not it was accepted or rejected by you. You can of course consider more than two formal requests within the same 12-month period if you choose to, but you are under no legal obligation to do so.
Note that if your staff member made a previous request informally (ie not through the formal statutory scheme) then they can make a further request (informally or formally) whenever they like.
Dealing with flexible working requests
Do I need to tell my staff how to make a formal flexible working request?
Yes; you need to make sure your staff know how to make a formal flexible working request. You can do this by setting this information out in your flexible working policy. For a template policy, see Flexible working policy. You can choose to generate the policy either on its own or as part of a full staff handbook using Staff handbook and policies. To make it easy for your staff to comply, it is a good idea to provide a template letter for them to use; see Flexible working – for employee – request for flexible working. You can also find this letter as part of the Remote working and cybersecurity toolkit.
How quickly do I have to deal with a formal flexible working request?
Once you receive a formal application for flexible working, you have two months from the date you received it in which to reach a decision, notify your employee of your decision and conduct any appeals process that you have (unless you both agree to an extension of this period). The Flexible working toolkit will help you take all the necessary steps in good time.
The day the two-month period starts depends on how your employee sent you their request (unless you can prove that you actually received it on a later date):
- Personal delivery, email or fax: on the day the request was sent (provided you have permitted requests to be sent by email or fax in your flexible working policy and have provided contact details for that purpose); or
- Post: on the standard day of delivery for the postal method used (eg next working day for first-class post).
Should I have a meeting with my employee to discuss their flexible working request?
Yes; discussing your employee’s flexible working request can help to inform your decision-making by giving you a better understanding of what changes to their terms and conditions your employee is looking for and how the changes might benefit both them and your business.
While you may feel that a meeting is unnecessary if you plan on approving the request, it could still be beneficial to ensure that the arrangement is the most appropriate solution for both your business and your employee.
If you plan to decline the request, it is now a legal requirement that you consult with your employee and discuss potential alternatives before declining it.
How do I decide whether to approve or deny a formal request for flexible working?
The ACAS Code of Practice advises that you consider requests objectively and weigh up the benefits that the requested changes might bring to both your employee and your business against any possible negative impacts (eg additional costs or potential logistical implications) for your business.
While you are under no obligation to approve a formal request for flexible working, you can only legally refuse it if, having weighed the considerations, you conclude one or more of the following eight grounds applies:
- There is an unacceptable burden of additional costs;
- The change would have a detrimental impact on your ability to meet customer demand;
- You are unable to reorganise work among your staff;
- You are unable to recruit cover;
- The change would have a detrimental impact on quality;
- The change would have a detrimental impact on performance (of the individual or their team);
- There is insufficient work during the proposed periods of work; or
- Your business has planned structural changes.
When you are considering a request for flexible working, you must be careful not to discriminate against your employee (either directly or indirectly). See our Q&A for more information about dealing with requests for flexible working from those with childcare responsibilities or disabilities.
Remember that if you are unsure about the long-term sustainability of a flexible working request, you could agree to a trial basis before rejecting it outright, or you could agree to the request with modifications.
Ending a flexible working arrangement
What do I do if I want to end a flexible working arrangement?
If you formally accepted a flexible working arrangement, it amounts to a permanent change of your employee’s terms and conditions of employment. This means that if you want to change your employee’s terms and conditions back to their previous arrangement, you will need to follow the usual process for changing the terms of an employment contract. Generally this will mean obtaining your staff member’s consent to the proposed change if you want to avoid the risk of them bringing claims against you (eg for breach of contract or discrimination). See Process for changing employee contracts and Amending the contracts of staff who are not employees for guidance about how to change a staff member’s employment contract.
The content in this article is up to date at the date of publishing. The information provided is intended only for information purposes, and is not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Sparqa Legal’s Terms of Use apply.
Marion joined Sparqa Legal as a Senior Legal Editor in 2018. She previously worked as a corporate/commercial lawyer for five years at one of New Zealand’s leading law firms, Kensington Swan (now Dentons Kensington Swan), and as an in-house legal consultant for a UK tech company. Marion regularly writes for Sparqa’s blog, contributing across its commercial, IP and health and safety law content.