Flexible Working

The right

The statutory right to request flexible working entitles qualifying employees to apply to their employers for a change to their terms and conditions of employment relating to their hours, times or location of work. The change could include, for example, working part-time, from home or compressed hours. Employers may only refuse the request on grounds defined in legislation, for example, the burden of additional costs or a detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand.

The right to request flexible working was introduced by section 47 of the Employment Act 2002 for employees with parental or caring responsibilities. Since then, successive governments have extended the right to wider categories of employees. On 30 June 2014 the right was extended to all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the Children and Families Act 2014.

In April 2024, new legislation expanded rights for employees around flexible working, paid and unpaid leave, and protection from redundancy during parental leave.

These changes mean employees can now make two, rather than one, requests per year for flexible working arrangements. The deadline for employers to respond to such requests has also been reduced from three to two months. The changes also mean employers have to provide reasons for denying any request, and employees no longer have to explain the impact of their request.

This briefing provides an overview of the right to request flexible working. It explains the legal framework, charts the development of the right since its introduction and discusses government policy.

What is flexible working?

Flexible working is seen as a means of enabling employees to balance their personal and working lives, benefiting employers in terms of workforce recruitment, motivation and retention.

Examples of flexible working arrangements include part-time working, compressed hours, and flexitime.

Attitudes towards flexible working

Surveys have shown that many employees want flexible working arrangements. A survey in 2017 by Timewise (a flexible working consultancy) found that 84% of male full-time employees and 91% of female full-time employees were either already working flexibly, or said they wanted to do so.

A survey of UK businesses by HSBC in 2021 also reported that flexible working and salary were equally important when attracting and retaining staff, with 35% of businesses stating this as important.

According to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the most common type of flexible working is working from home on a regular basis. The ONS reported in June 2021 that 24% of businesses intended to use homeworking as a permanent business model going forward. Almost 80% of businesses said this was because of improved staff wellbeing.