Flexible Working Rights

Employees are eligible to make a statutory request for flexible working from the first day of their employment. They can make up to two such requests within any 12-month period. The request must be made in writing, specifying the change applied for and the proposed effective date.

Employers are required to handle these requests in a reasonable manner. This includes consulting the employee about their request before making any decision to refuse it, and notifying the employee of the outcome within a decision period, which is typically two months from the date of the request. Employers must accept the request unless one or more of the specified statutory reasons for refusal applies, such as the burden of additional costs or an inability to reorganise work among existing staff.

If an employer fails to deal with a request in a reasonable manner or unreasonably refuses it, the employee may bring a claim to an employment tribunal. Successful claims can result in compensation of up to eight weeks’ capped pay. Additionally, employees are protected against detriment and dismissal for exercising their statutory rights in relation to flexible working.
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Employers should follow the ACAS Code of Practice found here, as far as possible when dealing with flexible working requests. Employment Tribunals must take it into consideration when deciding whether a request was handled reasonably, what steps and procedures were followed.