Consultation on making flexible working the default
Day one right
The government’s consultation (see Follow up ) is clear that it intends to make the statutory right to request flexible working a day one right for employees; it currently only applies to those with at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment.
Other proposed changes
The consultation also considers: (1) whether the eight business reasons for refusing a flexible working request all remain valid; (2) whether employers should be required to show they’ve considered alternative working arrangements when rejecting a request; (3) whether the limit of one request every twelve months needs to change; (4) whether the three-month period for an employer to respond to a request should be reduced; and (5) what would encourage employees to make more time-limited requests to work flexibly. The consultation closes on 1 December 2021.
Pro advice. The right will still only remain a right for an employee to request flexible working ; it isn’t being proposed that it become an automatic right to be granted flexible working. You’ll still have the right to reject a request if you have sound business reasons.
Consultation on making flexible working the default
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