Following legal changes to the statutory right for employees to request to work flexibly that came into force in England, Scotland and Wales for applications received on or after 6 April 2024, employees now have the right to submit a statutory request to work flexibly from day one of employment. There is no longer a requirement for employees to have been employed for a minimum of six months. The flexible working laws remain different in NI for now, and in addition to the FSB legal advice lines and resources on the FSB Legal and Business hub, the NI Labour Relations Agency can advise employers in Northern Ireland on how to handle requests.
Additionally, employees are now entitled to make two requests in any 12-month period and will no longer have to explain what effect, if any, they think their requested change would have on the employer and how any identified effect might be dealt with. An employer will not be permitted to refuse a request unless it has consulted the employee. The time for an employer to make a decision on the request is reduced from three to two months (although it remains open for the parties to agree a longer period).
The ACAS Code of Practice on Handling in a Reasonable Manner Requests to Work Flexibly has been updated with new guidance that applies to handling requests to work flexibly received on or after 6 April 2024. The guidance is very similar to the previous version, although more detailed. The guidance emphasises that requests should not rejected by default without open-minded consideration and meaningful dialogue. Requests made before 6 April 2024 are covered by the 2014 version of the ACAS code. As it is a statutory Code of Practice, it will also be taken into account by employment tribunals when considering relevant cases.
In summary, the guidance states that employers should:
- Arrange to talk to the employee at a consultation meeting without unreasonable delay after receiving their written request (unless the intention is to approve the request);
- Allow the employee to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative at any discussion (the previous 2014 ACAS guidance recommended allowing an employee to be accompanied by an employee only);
- Discuss the employee's request with them in private. The meeting could be held in person or remotely by video call, or failing that by telephone;
- Allow for a reasonable discussion and consideration of the request from both parties’ perspectives, including discussing "the potential benefits or other impacts of accepting or rejecting the request, and any practical considerations involved in implementing the request";
- Inform the employee of the decision in writing without undue delay (taking into account the statutory two-month period for deciding requests including any appeal), either confirming what has been agreed or explaining the statutory business reason, or reasons, for refusal, along with any additional information that is reasonable to help explain the refusal;
- Where the request is rejected, employers should set out such additional information as is reasonable to help explain their decision to reject the request;
- Allow the employee to appeal if their request is refused; and
- Consider and decide on all requests, including any appeals, within two months from receipt, unless an extension is agreed with the employee.
- Discuss whether a trial period may be appropriate to assess the feasibility of an arrangement.
See the fact sheet guidance on ‘flexible working’ and template letters and documents on the FSB Legal and Business hub, which have been updated to comply with the April amendments to the statutory flexible working regime. See the separate Northern Ireland category of the FSB legal and Business Hub for guidance on flexible working for employers in Northern Ireland.