Is Your Business Ready To Deal With Flexible Working Requests From Employees

28th June 2023

Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill 2022-23 has passed through all its stages and employers may soon begin to have requests from staff in certain circumstances.

Employees will have the right to request flexible working from day one of their employment. Previously, employees had to wait 26 weeks before they requested flexible working. Employers can no longer outright reject flexible working requests.

What does the Bill do?
The Bill would amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 to change the current right to request flexible working in the following ways:

removing the requirement for employees to explain in their applications what effect they think it will have on the employer,
allowing employees to make two flexible working requests per 12 months instead of the one currently allowed,

requiring employers to consult with the employee before being allowed to refuse an application, and

reducing the deadline for an employer decision on flexible working requests from three months to two months.

The Bill would apply to England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland where employment law is a devolved matter.

Read more details HERE

Helena Young at Startups has written an excellent guide updated 9 April 2023.
How to respond to a flexible working request

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