Flexible Working Hours extended to everyone.

Flexible working can help employees balance work with childcare, caring responsibilities, health conditions, education, travel or other commitments. It can also help employers recruit and retain staff, reduce absence and improve morale.

All employees have a statutory right to request flexible working from their first day of employment. However, this is a right to ask for a change and have the request properly considered, rather than an automatic right to choose where or when to work.

What Is Flexible Working?

Flexible working involves a change to the hours, times or location of an employee's work. It can include:

• Working part-time
• Changing starting or finishing times
• Working compressed hours
• Working from home or on a hybrid basis
• Job sharing
• Working annualised hours
• Working term-time only
• Working different shifts
• Phased retirement

The most appropriate arrangement will depend on the employee's role and the operational needs of the employer.

Who Can Make a Statutory Request?

The statutory right applies to employees from the first day of their employment.

People who are legally classed as workers, contractors or genuinely self-employed do not normally have the statutory right. They can still make an informal request, and the employer may agree to it.

Employment status depends on the reality of the working relationship and not simply on the description used in a contract.

How Many Requests Can Be Made?

An employee can make up to two statutory flexible working requests during any 12 months.

An employee cannot normally make a further statutory request while an earlier request remains unresolved.

Employers and employees can also discuss flexibility informally without using the statutory procedure. Informal requests do not necessarily count towards the statutory limit.

What Must the Request Include?

A statutory request must be made in writing and should:

• State that it is a statutory flexible working request
• Explain the change being requested
• State when the employee would like the change to begin
• Confirm whether and when the employee has made an earlier statutory request

The employee is no longer required to explain what effect the proposed arrangement might have on the business or how any difficulties could be addressed.

However, providing practical suggestions may still help the employer understand how the arrangement could work.

Does an Employee Have to Give a Reason?

An employee does not have to provide a particular personal reason to qualify for the statutory right.

The request might relate to childcare, caring responsibilities, health, commuting, study or personal preference. The employer must consider the request regardless of the employee's reason.

It may nevertheless be helpful to explain relevant circumstances, particularly where equality law, disability or caring responsibilities may apply.

What Must the Employer Do?

An employer receiving a statutory request must:

• Consider it reasonably
• Agree to it unless there is a genuine business reason for refusal
• Consult the employee before refusing it
• Reach a final decision within two months, unless a longer period is agreed
• Follow the Acas Code of Practice
• Avoid discriminating against the employee

Consultation should involve a genuine discussion about the request and any practical difficulties. The employer should consider whether the request could be accepted in full, accepted in part or replaced with a workable alternative.

Can the Employer Refuse the Request?

An employer can refuse a statutory request for one or more of the permitted business reasons.

These are:

• The burden of additional costs
• A detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand
• An inability to reorganise work among existing staff
• An inability to recruit additional staff
• A detrimental impact on quality
• A detrimental impact on performance
• Insufficient work during the periods the employee proposes to work
• Planned structural changes to the business

The employer should identify the relevant reason and explain how it applies to the request. A general statement that flexible working is inconvenient is unlikely to demonstrate that the request was considered properly.

Consultation Before Refusal

Unless the employer accepts the request in full, it must consult the employee before reaching a decision.

The discussion might consider:

• A different starting or finishing time
• Fewer homeworking days
• A temporary arrangement
• A trial period
• Job sharing
• A different working pattern
• Changes during particularly busy periods

The employer does not have to agree to an alternative. Still, consultation should be meaningful rather than a formality.

Trial Periods

An employer and employee may agree to test a proposed flexible working arrangement for a limited period.

A trial can help establish whether the arrangement affects customers, colleagues, productivity or service delivery.

The terms of the trial should be recorded in writing, including its duration, how it will be reviewed and what will happen when it ends.

What Happens When a Request Is Accepted?

Where a statutory request is accepted, the agreed change will normally result in a permanent variation to the employee's contract.

The employer should confirm in writing:

• The new working arrangement
• The date it will begin
• Any effect on pay, holiday or benefits
• Whether the change is permanent or temporary
• Any agreed review or trial period

An employee should not assume that they can automatically return to their previous working arrangement later unless this has been agreed.

Can the Employee Appeal?

There is no separate statutory right to an appeal. Still, the Acas Code states that allowing an appeal is good practice.

An appeal may be appropriate where the employee believes that relevant information was overlooked, the business reason is incorrect or an alternative arrangement was not properly considered.

Any appeal must normally be completed within the overall two-month decision period unless the parties agree to extend it.

Flexible Working and Discrimination

An employer must consider discrimination law as well as the flexible working legislation.

A refusal may amount to indirect sex discrimination where a workplace rule places women at a particular disadvantage because they are more likely to have childcare responsibilities, unless the employer can objectively justify the rule.

Other protected characteristics may also be relevant, including age, religion, pregnancy and maternity.

The existence of a permitted business reason under flexible working law does not automatically mean that a refusal complies with the Equality Act 2010.

Disabled Employees and Reasonable Adjustments

A flexible working request linked to a disability may also engage the employer's separate duty to make reasonable adjustments.

Possible adjustments can include:

• Changing working hours
• Allowing homeworking
• Providing additional breaks
• Changing duties
• Reducing travel
• Allowing time for treatment

An employer must not deal with a reasonable adjustment request solely as an ordinary flexible working request. The legal tests are different, and an adjustment may be required even where the employee has already used both statutory flexible working requests.

Home and Hybrid Working

There is no general legal right to work from home. Home or hybrid working can be requested through the flexible working procedure.

An employer may consider:

• Whether duties can be performed remotely
• Data security and confidentiality
• Supervision and training
• Customer requirements
• Health and safety
• Equipment and expenses
• The effect on colleagues

Employers should assess the individual role rather than rejecting homeworking solely because other employees are required to attend the workplace.

Small Businesses

Small employers are subject to the same statutory flexible working rules as larger organisations.

The size and resources of the business may nevertheless affect whether a particular arrangement is practical. A small employer may have greater difficulty covering particular shifts or reorganising work among a limited number of employees.

The employer should still consider the request individually and discuss possible alternatives before refusing it.

Protection From Dismissal or Detriment

An employee must not be dismissed or subjected to detrimental treatment because they made, or proposed to make, a statutory flexible working request.

Detrimental treatment might include reducing hours, denying opportunities, disciplinary action or treating the employee unfavourably because of the request.

Additional protection may apply where the request relates to disability, childcare, pregnancy or another protected characteristic.

Employment Tribunal Claims

An employee may be able to bring an employment tribunal claim where the employer:

• Failed to deal with the request reasonably
• Did not complete the process within the required period
• Refused the request for a reason outside the permitted list
• Based the decision on incorrect facts
• Failed to consult before refusing the request
• Dismissed or subjected the employee to a detriment because of the request

A tribunal does not normally decide whether it would have granted the flexible working request itself. It considers whether the employer followed the statutory requirements.

A successful claim can result in compensation and an order requiring the employer to reconsider the request.

Separate and potentially more valuable claims may arise under discrimination law.

Time Limits

Employment tribunal claims are generally subject to strict time limits, often three months less one day from the relevant decision or act.

The employee will normally need to notify Acas and begin Early Conciliation before submitting a tribunal claim.

Advice should be obtained promptly because internal discussions or an appeal do not always extend the legal time limit.

Future Changes

Further changes to flexible working law are expected in 2027.

Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, an employer rejecting a request will be required to explain why it considers the refusal reasonable, in addition to relying on one or more of the statutory business grounds.

Further regulations and guidance are expected before these changes take effect. Employers and employees should check the current rules when making or considering a request.

Benefits of Flexible Working

Well-managed flexible working can benefit both employees and employers.

Potential advantages include:

• Improved recruitment and staff retention
• Reduced absence
• Greater workforce diversity
• Improved morale and wellbeing
• Access to a wider geographical workforce
• Reduced commuting time
• Improved productivity

However, not every arrangement will be suitable for every role. Clear communication, written expectations and regular review can help identify problems before they become disputes.

Obtaining Legal Advice

An employee should consider obtaining advice where a request has been refused without proper consultation, the stated business reason appears inaccurate, or the request relates to disability or discrimination.

Employers should seek advice before refusing a complex request, particularly where the employee has caring responsibilities, a health condition or another protected characteristic.

Important Information

Solicitors.com is not a firm of solicitors. This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Flexible working and employment laws may change, and their application will depend on the individual circumstances. You should seek advice from a suitably qualified employment law solicitor or Acas before taking or refraining from action.