New rules mean that 20 million employees now have the right to request flexible working.
The government’s extension means that almost every employee now has the right to ask their employer to change their working patterns. But what does this mean in practice, and what does your small business need to do?
Flexible working simply means an agreed change to an employee’s working pattern. This could take various different forms, but tends to involve part-time work, different working hours, working from home, or job sharing.
As a result of the changes to the law, every employee with 26 weeks’ or more service now has the right to request flexible working. Previously this right was reserved for parents or carers.
No. The new rights mean only that employees can apply for flexible working, not that they must necessarily be granted it. There are eight grounds on which you might legally be able to refuse flexible working. These are:
These reasons have not changed; these are the same grounds on which you could refuse a flexible working application under previous rules.
The law says that you must deal with applications in a “reasonable manner”. In practice, this means that you should hold a meeting with the employee to discuss their proposals, and that you should notify them of your decision as soon as possible – and at least within three months. If you decide not to grant the request, you must give a clear business case for doing so, citing one or more of the reasons listed above.
Employers are not legally obliged to make a “value judgement” about competing flexible working requests. Instead, each case must be considered on its merits. Requests should be considered in the order they are received. The government’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) recommends that employers might discuss the conflict with the relevant employees in order to come to a compromise and, when this is not possible, ask whether they would be happy to use a method of random selection.
If you are in any doubt about your obligations under the new rules, you should seek legal advice. You can also find further guidance from Acas on their website.
As the UK's biggest business insurance provider, we specialise in employers' liability insurance. We'll run you a quick, tailored quote right now online, and let you decide if we're a good fit.
Start your quoteWe create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always take professional advice. Read our full disclaimer
Keep up to date with Simply Business. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and follow us on social media.
Subscribe to our newsletter6th Floor99 Gresham StreetLondonEC2V 7NG
Sol House29 St Katherine's StreetNorthamptonNN1 2QZ
© Copyright 2021 Simply Business. All Rights Reserved. Simply Business is a trading name of Xbridge Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Registration No: 313348). Xbridge Limited (No: 3967717) has its registered office at 6th Floor, 99 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7NG.