What is the current law on Flexible working requests
Employees can currently request flexible working arrangements under the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 (1) and Part VIIIA of the Employment Rights Act 1996 if they have worked for the same employer continuously for the previous 26 weeks.
Employers are required to arrange a formal meeting with right to be accompanied by a co-worker or trade union representative to consider the request in a ‘reasonable manner’ decide within 3 months of the request on an outcome with appeal (or longer if agreed with the employee).
Employers can reject an application for any of the following reasons (2):
extra costs that will damage the business
the work cannot be reorganised among other staff
people cannot be recruited to do the work
flexible working will affect quality and performance
the business will not be able to meet customer demand
there’s a lack of work to do during the proposed working times
the business is planning changes to the workforce
What is likely to change with flexible working requests
The Government on 5th December 2022 appear to agree that changes to some of the current provisions on flexible working are desirable and the catalyst being the private members bill that was introduced by MP Yasmin Qureshi with likely changes to current flexible procedure being: -
“1.the right to request flexible working as a day one right
- to introduce a new requirement for employees to consult with the employee when they intend to reject their flexible working request
- to allow 2 statutory requests in any 12-month period (rather than the current one)
4.require a decision period of 2 months in respect of a statutory flexible working request (rather than the current three months)
5.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” –(3)
The Government have also highlighted that where an employer cannot accommodate a request to work flexi working, they will be required to discuss alternative options before they can reject the request but the grounds to reject any flexible working requests remain the same.
The Bill is currently at committee stage and primary legislation will be required for it to be law and no timelines have been provided on that by the Government.
Why is flexible working important for employers to consider
Flexible working can be beneficial to the employer as could help with improved productivity, better staff morale and staff engagement resulting in better staff retention in particular with highly skilled staff as recruitment and training of new recruits can be costly and time consuming for employers.
The employers need to consider the implications of the Government proposals and review their flexible working policy and business model in anticipation of changes to come in this area.
(1)- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1398/made
(2)- https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working/after-the-application
(3)- https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-flexible-working-the-default
The article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as
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