Flexible Working Requests: Employer's Guide

Flexible working is increasingly important to employees. Since April 2024, the rules have changed significantly - here's what you need to know.

The 2024 Changes

From 6 April 2024:

• Day one right - No more 26-week qualifying period
• Two requests per year - Up from one
• 2-month deadline - Down from 3 months
• Consultation required - Must discuss before refusing
• No need to explain impact - Employee no longer needs to explain effect on employer

Who Can Request?

All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one.

Note: Workers (not employees) don't have the statutory right, but may still ask informally.

What Can Be Requested?

Flexible working includes:

Type	Examples
Hours	Part-time, compressed hours, annualised hours
Times	Earlier/later start, different days
Location	Working from home, hybrid working
Pattern	Job share, term-time only

Employees can request any change to their terms relating to hours, times, or location.

The Request Process

Step 1: Receive the Request

A valid request must:

• Be in writing (email is fine)
• Be dated
• State it's a statutory flexible working request
• Specify what change is requested
• Specify when the change should start

Employees don't need to:

• Explain what effect it will have on the employer
• Suggest how any effects could be dealt with

Step 2: Consider the Request

You should:

• Think about whether it could work
• Consider any modifications
• Identify any genuine business concerns
• Prepare for the consultation meeting

Step 3: Consult with the Employee

This is now mandatory. Before making a decision, you must discuss the request with the employee.

The consultation should:

• Explore the request in detail
• Discuss any concerns you have
• Consider alternative arrangements
• Give the employee chance to respond to concerns

Step 4: Make Your Decision

You must either:

• Agree to the request, or
• Agree a modified version (with employee's consent), or
• Refuse for one of the permitted reasons

Step 5: Communicate the Outcome

Notify the employee in writing:

If agreeing:

• Confirm the new arrangements
• Specify the start date
• Confirm it's a permanent change (unless agreed otherwise)

If refusing:

• State which of the 8 grounds applies
• Explain why that ground applies
• Explain the appeal procedure

The 8 Grounds for Refusal

You can only refuse if one of these applies:

1. Burden of additional costs - Would cost too much
2. Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand - Can't serve customers properly
3. Inability to reorganise work among existing staff - Can't redistribute the work
4. Inability to recruit additional staff - Can't find cover
5. Detrimental impact on quality - Quality would suffer
6. Detrimental impact on performance - Performance would suffer
7. Insufficiency of work during periods proposed - Not enough work at those times
8. Planned structural changes - Reorganisation already planned

You must show the ground genuinely applies to this specific request.

The 2-Month Deadline

The entire process must be completed within 2 months:

• Receiving the request
• Holding the consultation meeting
• Making the decision
• Handling any appeal
• Communicating the final outcome

You can extend this period if the employee agrees in writing.

Handling Appeals

While not legally required, good practice is to offer an appeal:

1. Employee appeals in writing (give them a reasonable deadline)
2. Hold an appeal meeting
3. Different manager hears the appeal if possible
4. Confirm outcome in writing

All within the 2-month deadline.

Trial Periods

Consider offering a trial period if you're unsure:

• Agree specific trial length (e.g., 3 months)
• Set clear review criteria
• Document the agreement
• Review at end of trial
• Employee keeps right to revert if trial unsuccessful

Trial periods help you assess the practical impact without permanent commitment.

Multiple Requests

Employees can now make 2 requests in any 12-month period.

If you receive a second request:

• Treat it separately
• Don't penalise for previous request
• Consider on its own merits
• Apply same process and timescales

Discrimination Considerations

Be careful of indirect discrimination:

• Women more likely to request flexible working
• Disabled employees may need it as reasonable adjustment
• Parents and carers more likely to request
• Older workers may need it for health reasons

If flexible working relates to a protected characteristic, consider whether:

• Your refusal disproportionately affects that group
• You have objective justification

Flexible Working and Reasonable Adjustments

If an employee requests flexible working as a disability-related reasonable adjustment:

• Consider under Equality Act 2010 (not just flexible working rules)
• Must make adjustment unless not reasonable
• Different (often higher) threshold than flexible working grounds
• Failure could be disability discrimination

Common Scenarios

Part-Time After Maternity Leave

Very common request. Consider:

• Could role work part-time?
• Is job share possible?
• What would impact on team be?

Refusing without good reason risks indirect sex discrimination.

Working From Home

Post-pandemic, many roles shown to be doable remotely. Consider:

• What tasks require office presence?
• Could hybrid arrangement work?
• How would you manage performance?

Compressed Hours

Employee wants full-time hours in fewer days. Consider:

• Impact on coverage
• Health and safety (long days)
• Client/customer needs
• Colleague impact

Documentation

Keep records of:

• Original request
• Consultation meeting notes
• Your analysis of the request
• Business reasons for any refusal
• Decision letter
• Any appeal and outcome

Tribunal Claims

Employees can bring a tribunal claim if you:

• Reject for a reason other than the 8 grounds
• Fail to consult before refusing
• Fail to respond within 2 months
• Don't follow the correct procedure

Compensation: Up to 8 weeks' pay (currently capped at £700/week = £5,600 maximum).

They may also claim indirect discrimination (unlimited compensation) if refusal disproportionately affects a protected group.

Best Practice

1. Have a policy - Clear process for making and handling requests
2. Train managers - They often receive requests first
3. Be open-minded - Consider each request fairly
4. Document properly - Record reasons for decisions
5. Consult meaningfully - Don't just go through motions
6. Meet deadlines - 2 months goes quickly
7. Consider trial periods - When unsure
8. Think about precedent - Be consistent across the business