You may have heard that there is a significant change coming to flexible working rights in April, well there is and this is what it means.
The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations Act 2023 will come into effect on 6 April 2024 and the biggest changes it will make are removing the current 26 week qualifying period needed before a flexible working request can be made and it allows for up to two requests being made in a 12-month period.
What is flexible working I hear you say? Well, it can refer to working patterns or hours, including part time, flexi-time, term time, compressed hours and adjusting start and finish times, as well as location; for example, working from home or hybrid working.
As a result of this change, employees will have the right to make a flexible working request from their first day of employment and can now make up to two requests within a 12 month period as opposed to the previous one.
Employers now need to respond to an employee’s flexible working request within 2 months instead of 3, and must consult with the employee before rejecting the request.
Employees will now no longer need to explain what effect the request will have on the employer or how the impact can be dealt with.
Caution still needs to be exercised by employers when considering an employee's flexible working request, as whilst the new legislation still allows employers to reject flexible working requests based on the existing eight reasons, the ability for an employer to reject a request outright will be removed and employers must consult with the employee and discuss alternative arrangements. Going forward, there is a lot of work for employers to do to ensure their processes and procedures are in place ahead of 6 April.
If you need any help or assistance on this or other employment law matters, then please give us a call on 08081668860 / 0121 746 3300 or email Emma-Louise Hewitt at e.hewitt@sydneymitchell.co.uk or Carina Jheeta at c.jheeta@sydneymitchell.co.uk.
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