The government has announced planned changes to flexible working laws but has not confirmed when the changes will be implemented. The basic principle for flexible is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to how work should function. The system must facilitate employers and employees finding arrangements that work for all parties, be that flexible hours, home working, hybrid working etc. Importantly however the ‘right to flexible working’ remains a right to request flexible working. It is not a right to work flexibly.
The proposed changes are:
- The right to request flexible working will become a day one right (currently an employee must wait 26 weeks before they are eligible to make a request)
- Permitting employees to make two requests in a 12-month period instead of one.
- Requiring an employer to consult with the employee if it is considering rejecting a request.
- Reducing the period in which an employer must respond to a request from three months to two months.
- Simplifying the process for requesting flexible working including removing the requirement for employees to specify how the employer might deal with the effects of the flexible working request.
It is unclear what the timetable will be for implementing these changes.
There has been a huge increase in the number of employees working flexibly following the COVID pandemic which has been helped by employers’ challenges in the recruitment market. There is though an increasing push back from employers are the economy is tightening with a number of companies looking to get staff into the office more often and for longer than before. How some of these proposed changes will help is unclear as, for example, an employee is unlikely to apply for a job advertised as 5 days per week, secure the offer, resign from their current job and then raise a request to work 3 days a week on their very first day, for fear of upsetting their new employer and prejudicing their new dream job.
If you have any queries relating to these proposed changes or flexible working more generally please do contact our Employment Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.