The new rules on flexible working – everything you need to know
A new law giving employees better access to flexible working rights has been approved by parliament.
Due to come into force next year (2024), the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, is designed to address the significant shift in working habits brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although lockdowns are, at least for now, a thing of the past, 44% of British people currently work from home at least some of the time (hybrid or full-time) and only 10% of hybrid workers want to return to the workplace full-time.
What are the new flexible working rules?
The new Act amends the statutory flexible working rules outlined in the Employment Rights Act 1996. The changes are that:
- An employee will be able to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period – up from one a year.
- Employers will have to respond to a flexible working request more quickly, within two months. It used to be three months.
- An employee asking for flexible working will no longer have to explain how this change will affect their employer.
- Employers will have to consult with an employee before turning down their flexible working request. This was not a requirement previously.
What else do employers need to know about the flexible working changes?
An employee must currently have been working somewhere for 26 weeks continuously before they can make a flexible working request.
However, the government is expected to introduce a ‘day one’ right to ask for flexible working through secondary legislation. This change, along with the measures contained in the new Act, are expected to come in around July next year (2024).
This staggered approach gives employers not only a heads up about the government’s intentions but time to prepare for flexible working changes by updating policies and bringing managers up to speed.
Some companies, including Tesco, the UK’s largest private sector employer, have decided not to wait for legislation and have already introduced the right to ask for flexible working from the first day of employment.
Get in touch
Partner James Taylor is a specialist Employment Law and Employment Disputes lawyer for both employers and employees.
His recent work includes:
- Helping a finance advice company successfully defend allegations of unfair dismissal by a former senior manager.
- Pursuing a claim of constructive dismissal and sex discrimination by a veterinary nurse to a successful four-day hearing with Counsel.
- Obtaining an injunction, and later damages, to stop a former employee breaking restrictive covenants by poaching clients.
- Helping employers to fairly dismiss employees without facing any claims for unfair dismissal or discrimination.
- Advising on several hundred Settlement/Compromise Agreements (click here to read how we can help).
- Helping a director/business owner turn a £30,000 employment claim into a £300,000 business exit agreement at mediation.
Email James: james.taylor@wards.uk.com
Phone James: 01454 204880