Flexible working regulations are changing

Following a consultation on proposals to reform the Flexible Working regulations, the government will introduce a series of legislative changes that will impact employees’ rights and businesses’ legal responsibilities. This includes:

• Making the right to request flexible working a day one right. This means that employees will be able to make a request to change their work location, working hours, and/or working pattern on the first day of employment, rather than waiting until they’ve reached 26 weeks of continuous service, as is the case under current legislation.
• Introduce a new requirement for employers to consult with employees when they intend to reject their flexible working request. This means that if an employer cannot accommodate a request to work flexibly, they will be required to discuss alternative options before they can reject the request.
• Allow 2 statutory requests in any 12-month period and require a decision period of 2 months for each request. This is a change from current legislation, which allows for 1 request in any 12-month period and a decision period of 3 months.
• Remove the existing requirement that the employee must explain what effect, if any, the change applied for would have on the employer and how that effect might be dealt with.

The government has also said they will develop guidance to raise awareness and understanding of how to make and administer temporary requests for flexible working and will launch a call for evidence to better understand how informal flexible working operates in practice.

These changes reflect the CBI’s work to ensure the continuation of a ‘right to request’ legislative framework, that makes flexible working accessible to all employees, along with a more responsive system that remains manageable for employers. You can see our original response to the consultation here.

If you would like to discuss our work on flexible working, please get in touch with