Employees will be able to request flexible working from the first day of their employment

Government responds to flexible working consultation

The Government has announced that employees will have the right to request flexible working from the first day of their employment, rather than having to wait 26 weeks. Confirmation comes in the Government’s response to its flexible working consultation. 

As well as making the right to request flexible working a day one right, the Government has confirmed that : 

• Employees will be allowed to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period (instead of one) 
• Employers will have to respond to a flexible working request within two months (instead of three) 
• Employers will be required to consult with employees, to explore the available options, before rejecting a request 
• The requirement for employees to set out how the effects of their flexible working request might be dealt with by the employer will be removed 
• There will be no change to the eight business reasons an employer can rely on for refusing a flexible working request 

When will these changes take effect? 

Precise timescales are unclear. The Government has confirmed that making the right to request flexible working apply from the first day of employment will be done through secondary legislation ‘when parliamentary time allows’. The other changes require primary legislation. However, the Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which already include these changes. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 28 October and will be considered by a Public Bill Committee meeting on 7 December. 

Temporary arrangements and informal flexibility 

The Government also intends to develop enhanced guidance to raise awareness and understanding of how to make and administer temporary requests for flexible working, as consultation responses indicated a lack of awareness of the right to request a time-limited change. 

The Government also recognises that people often need ad hoc or informal flexibility to manage elements of their lives, such as attending appointments or managing fluctuations in their health. It will issue a call for evidence ‘in due course’ to better understand how informal or ad hoc flexible working might work in practice.