Flexible Working Requests

A statutory flexible working request can cover any change to your current working pattern, including:

• Hours: Reducing total hours, changing start or finish times
• Days: Compressing a full-time week into fewer days (compressed hours), working only certain days of the week
• Location: Working from home (remote or hybrid working)
• Annualised hours: Varying hours across the year to suit personal or family commitments
• Job sharing: Sharing a full-time role with another person
• Staggered hours or term-time working

Any change must be agreed by your employer — the right is to request a change, not to impose one. However, since April 2024 the process is stronger: employers must now consult with you before refusing, and must give reasons for any refusal based on one of eight statutory grounds.

Your flexible working request must be made in writing and should include:

• The date of the request
• The change to your working pattern you are requesting
• The date you would like the change to come into effect
• A statement that it is a statutory flexible working request

You do not have to give a reason for your request, though providing context (such as childcare responsibilities or a health condition) may help your employer understand your needs and find a workable solution. You can make up to two statutory requests per year. A request is only invalid if it has been submitted fewer than 12 months after a previous statutory request.

Your employer should acknowledge the request promptly and must either approve it straight away or consult with you about it before making a decision. The entire process must be concluded within two months of the request, unless you agree an extension.

Your employer can only refuse a flexible working request on one or more of the following eight statutory grounds:

• The burden of additional costs
• Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
• Inability to reorganise work among existing staff
• Inability to recruit additional staff
• Detrimental impact on quality
• Detrimental impact on performance
• Insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work
• Planned structural changes to the business

Importantly, the employer must now consult you before refusing, giving you an opportunity to suggest alternatives or address their concerns. The employer should explain which ground(s) apply and why. If a refusal is not genuinely based on one of these grounds, or if the procedure was not followed correctly, you may have grounds to complain to an Employment Tribunal.

If your flexible working request is refused and you believe the refusal was not on valid grounds, or that the process was not followed correctly, you have options:

• Appeal internally: Many employers have an internal appeal process — use it and document the outcome
• Raise a grievance: If you believe the refusal was discriminatory (e.g. a female employee refused a reduced hours request while male employees are accommodated), this is a potential sex discrimination claim as well as a flexible working claim
• Employment Tribunal: You can bring a claim that your employer failed to comply with the statutory procedure, or that the refusal was based on incorrect facts. The tribunal can order the employer to reconsider and award up to eight weeks' pay as compensation

Note: the right is to have the request properly considered, not to have it granted. A tribunal cannot force your employer to agree to a particular working pattern.