The government has now published their promised consultation document, ‘Making flexible working the default’, proposing various reforms to the right for employees to request flexible working. This has stemmed from the various changes in working practices over the past 18 months or so stemming from the pandemic.
Currently employees have the right to ‘request’ flexible working once they have worked for their employer for 26 weeks. This is the key requirement the government is proposing to remove. Additionally having made one request an employee is then prevented from making another request for 12 months and the government is seeking feedback on whether this requirement should also be amended.
Importantly the proposals do not introduce an automatic right for employees to work flexibly. Instead, the government proposes a number of measures to broaden the right to request flexible working emphasising that these decisions are best resolved through conversation between employer and employee about how to balance work requirements and the employee’s needs.
As well as a change to the 26 week service requirement the consultation also seeks feedback in relation to:
- Making changes to the business reasons for refusing a request to work flexibly.
- Whether the employer should be required to suggest alternatives to the arrangement suggested by the employee if the employee’s request is not to be granted.
- Raising awareness of the existing right of employees to request a temporary flexible working arrangement.
The government has decided not to proceed with the proposal, put forward in an earlier consultation, to introduce a requirement for large employers to publish their flexible working policies.
The consultation will remain open until 1 December 2021. Responses can be submitted online or by email to labourmarketparticipation@beis.gov.uk.
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