What the new Flexible Working Bill means for UK employees

This week (2-6 October 2023) sees the start of National Work Life Week, with the campaign this year focusing on well-being at work and work-life balance. This year’s hot topic of discussion has been the government's introduction of the Flexible Working Bill. Dan Wilde from our Employment team discusses what this will mean for millions of British workers.

Employees across the UK will be able to seek greater work flexibility after the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill passed into law in July 2023.

Under the new law – which is expected to come into force in 2024 – employees will gain the right to make two flexible working requests within any 12-month period. Previously, they could only make one, with employers required to consult with the employees before rejecting any request.

The employer decision period will also be reduced from three months to two months and the requirement for an employee to explain the impact on the organisation if they switched to flexible working will be removed.

What does the Flexible Working Bill do?

The Flexible Working Bill will introduce some sizable changes to UK employment law. Currently, the Employment Rights Act 1996 states that any employee who has worked at a company for 26 weeks or longer is permitted to ask their manager for flexible working once per year. They must also give an explanation as to what impact, if any, the employee thinks making the change would have on their employer.

However, the new legislation means:

Employers must consult with their employees before a flexible working request can be turned down.
Employees can make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period.
Employers must respond to requests within two months (previously three)
Employees are no longer required to lay out how a flexible working request might impact the employer.

Employees will still need 26 weeks of service before they can make a flexible working request – a day-one right to request flexible working has not been included in the final bill.

Can an employer still refuse a flexible working request?

Yes, they can. The Flexible Working Bill does not mean that any business owner should now feel compelled to approve a request for flexible working. A company’s operations might not be designed to facilitate flexible working – for example, job roles that are based on-site like in a warehouse.

How We Can Help

At Harding Evans, our expert solicitors can provide advice on all aspects of Employment Law, including how to manage flexible working in your organisation. Contact Dan today to discuss.

For more advice, check out our related blogs on ‘‘Flexible working requests‘ and ‘What changes will be happening to flexible working rules?‘.