Flexible working requests: Are you prepared for changes?

New working regulations will come into effect in April this year giving employees the right to request flexible working from day one of their employment.

Under the current law, workers have to have been employed for at least 26 weeks before making a request to work flexibly.

However, The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023, laid before Parliament last December, will apply to applications made on or after April 6, 2024.

‘Flexible working’ is a wide-ranging phrase. It can refer to working patterns or hours, including part time, flexi-time, term time, compressed hours and adjusting start and finish times.

And it can also be the subject of employment location, such as working from home.

The new working regulations are part of wider changes also expected to come into force in April.

The new Act will require employers to consult with the employee when they make a flexible working request before rejecting it.

And the time employers have to respond to a request will be reduced to two months, from the three months allowed under current rules.

Employees will also be able to make two requests within a 12-month period, compared to the single request they are currently allowed.

And there will no longer be any requirement for an employee to explain what effect their request will have on the employer or how the impact might be dealt with.

HR experts say businesses should be prepared to see a rise in requests for flexible working and should review their current policies in advance of the new regulations coming into effect.

That includes putting in place effective processes to review and respond to applications promptly.

The advisory body Acas says it is currently producing a new statutory Code of Practice on handling requests for flexible working, to support employers and employees through the changes.

Chief executive Susan Clews said: “It is important for bosses and staff to be prepared for new changes to the law around the right to request flexible working.”

The code will include information on the need for transparency about reasons for rejecting a request.

It will also make it clear that employers should proactively offer an appeal where a request has been rejected.

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