Acas consultation: draft Code of Practice on requests for flexible working

1 October 2026

Foreword: Making flexible working work

Flexible working can bring significant benefits to employers and workers. When employers and employees work together to find arrangements that work well, everyone can benefit through better recruitment and retention, improved wellbeing, and organisations that make use of everyone's talents.

The law on flexible working is changing. Employers will be required to take specific steps to consult an employee before refusing their request. They will also be able to refuse a request only where there is a statutory business reason for doing so and it is reasonable to refuse the request on that basis. Employers will need to approach requests with an open mind, consider relevant evidence and clearly explain their decision.

Flexible working looks different in every workplace. Different arrangements will suit different roles, organisations and individuals. Some form of flexibility may be possible in many jobs, but not every request will be practical in every circumstance. Where an employer has concerns about a request, an open and constructive conversation can help both sides understand the issues, explore possible solutions and reach a fair and effective decision.

Acas is consulting on an updated statutory Code of Practice to reflect these changes. The draft Code is intended to help employers and employees understand the new law, reach fair and effective decisions, and prevent disputes. It explains how and when employers should consult employees and supports both sides to have constructive conversations about what may be possible.

Relatively few disagreements about flexible working currently progress to an employment tribunal. Flexible working matters account for less than 1% of the early conciliation notifications and employment tribunal claims received by Acas. We want to help keep that proportion low by supporting employers and employees to address concerns early, communicate clearly and find practical solutions wherever possible.

The draft Code helps employers reach reasonable decisions based on 4 principles:

• reaching decisions based on evidence
• adapting where possible to enable a request
• working together to find solutions
• acting transparently and consistently

These principles are relevant to organisations of every size and sector, although how they are applied will depend on the circumstances, including an employer's size, resources and operational needs. The Code is intended to support a fair and reasonable approach, not to prescribe the same outcome in every organisation.

If you are an employer, employee, trade union or representative, or otherwise have an interest in flexible working and good employment relations, we want to hear from you. In particular, we want to know whether the draft Code is clear and practical and whether it will help employers and employees apply the new law effectively.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 17 December 2026. Until the changes to the law and the updated Code come into force, employers should continue to follow the current Code of Practice when handling statutory flexible working requests.

Getting this right matters. Flexible working that works well can benefit employees, employers and the wider economy. By contributing to this consultation, you can help shape a Code that supports constructive conversations, fair decisions and better working lives.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, Acas Chair

Introduction

Why we are consulting

Acas is updating its statutory Code of Practice on requests for flexible working to reflect changes being introduced through the Employment Rights Act 2025 and regulations made under it.

These changes will lead to new requirements for employers when considering statutory flexible working requests. They are expected to take effect in autumn 2027. When in force, they will:

• provide that an employer may refuse a request only where it is reasonable to do so for one or more of the statutory business reasons
• require an employer to explain why it considers the refusal reasonable
• require employers to follow mandatory consultation steps, which will be set out in regulations

The government will set out the mandatory consultation steps in secondary legislation. The current draft Code is based on the government's response to its consultation on those steps, which ran earlier in 2026. The government has now published its official response to its 2026 consultation on those steps – Make Work Pay: improving access to flexible working. Once the regulations are finalised, Acas will review the draft Code to make sure it accurately reflects the final legal requirements. We are consulting now so that the updated Code can take effect at the same time as the legislative changes.

In accordance with the relevant statutory process, Acas is publishing the draft Code for public consultation. After the consultation closes, Acas will consider the responses before finalising the draft Code.

If Acas decides to proceed with the updated Code, it will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. If approved, the updated Code will be laid before Parliament. Subject to the relevant Parliamentary process, the revised Code is expected to come into force in autumn 2027, at the same time as the legislative changes.

Background

From their first day of employment, employees have the statutory right to request changes to their hours, times or place of work. Flexible working can include arrangements such as part-time working, hybrid working, flexitime, compressed hours, job sharing or different working patterns. Employers must decide and communicate the outcome of a statutory request, including any appeal, within the 2-month decision period.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 makes changes to the law on flexible working. When in force, these changes will:

• introduce a new reasonableness test for refusing flexible working requests. Employers will still be able to refuse a request using one or more of the existing statutory business reasons, but they will also need to explain why it is reasonable to refuse the request for the stated business reasons
• set out mandatory consultation steps before a request can be refused. Where an employer feels they cannot accept a statutory flexible working request in full, they must follow a consultation process with the employee which will be set out in law

The draft Code on which we are looking for views has been developed to reflect these changes. In this draft we have updated our guidance on:

• how to reach a reasonable decision about a request
• how to consult an employee about their request
• requests that may involve reasonable adjustments
• managing multiple requests for flexible working arrangements

We have also made changes to make the Code clearer and more accessible. These are not intended to change the meaning of the Code.

The draft Code recognises that what is reasonable may depend on the circumstances, including the employer's size and resources.

The current Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working came into force in 2024. It remains in force and will do until the updated Code replaces it. Employment tribunals must take the Code into account where it is relevant to a case.

The draft Code has benefited from the expertise and scrutiny of employer representatives, employee representatives and independent members of the Acas Council.

Alongside the Code, Acas will also update its non-statutory guidance on flexible working. That guidance will give more detailed practical support for employers, employees and representatives.

Role of the Code

The Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working is a statutory Code. It gives practical guidance to employers, employees and representatives on handling statutory requests for flexible working.

The Code does not create new legal rights or obligations. However, employment tribunals must take the Code into account where it is relevant to a case.

The Code uses:

• "must" to indicate where something is a legal requirement
• "should" where Acas indicates a strongly recommended step or expectation
• "good practice" to indicate what Acas considers to be good employment practice

Consultation details

Issued: 1 October 2026

Respond by: 11:59pm on 17 December 2026

If you have any questions about the consultation, email consultations@acas.org.uk

We welcome contributions from all interested individuals and organisations. This includes:

• employees
• employers
• trade unions
• business representative groups
• HR professionals
• legal representatives
• equality and disability organisations
• carers' organisations
• any other bodies or individuals with an interest in flexible working and good employment relations

How to respond

Use our online form to respond to the consultation

To make your submission as helpful as possible, please:

• read the draft Code and this consultation document in full before responding
• keep your response concise and to the point. There is a limit of 500 words for each open-text question.
• keep your response as plain text only. The online form does not support hyperlinks, tables or images.

Alternatively, you can download the consultation questions in Microsoft Word format and email your response to consultations@acas.org.uk:

• consultation questions – responding as an individual (DOCX, 42KB)
• consultation questions – responding as an employer or organisation (DOCX, 39KB)

If you need to submit your response in another way, email consultations@acas.org.uk

Confidentiality and data protection

Information you provide in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication, release to other parties or to disclosure in accordance with UK access to information legislation – primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

If you want information, including personal data that you provide, to be treated as confidential, please be aware that under the FOIA, there is a statutory Code of Practice that public authorities must comply with. This deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence.

In view of this, please explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation. We cannot, however, give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on Acas.

Acas will process your personal data in accordance with the DPA. Your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help process and analyse consultation responses. This will be limited to identifying themes, grouping similar responses, and supporting our analysis. Decisions will not be based solely on AI analysis of responses. All responses will be reviewed and considered by Acas staff.

The AI tools will only be used for the purposes of this consultation. They will not be applied to your personal data for any unrelated purposes.

Consultation questions

The following questions relate to the draft Code of Practice on requests for flexible working.

We strongly encourage you to read the draft Code in full before responding to this consultation.

Section A: reaching a reasonable decision on a request

The draft Code provides guidance on the new requirement that an employer may only reject a request where it is reasonable to do so on the basis of the business reasons referred to.

At paragraph 49, the Code sets out 4 principles for reaching a reasonable decision:

• reaching decisions based on evidence
• adapting to enable the request
• finding solutions together
• transparency and consistency

It also lists examples of the kind of things an employer could do under each principle. An explanation of each principle is set out in the Code along with examples from paragraphs 48 to 59.

Section B: consulting the employee

At paragraphs 27 to 44, the draft Code gives guidance on consulting with employees before refusing a request.

This guidance now reflects the new steps to consult an employee that an employer is required to take by law. The employer must take these steps unless it accepts the request in full.

The Code also provides good practice guidance on effective consultation that the employer should follow.

Section C: guidance on specific issues

Reasonable adjustments

At paragraphs 22 to 26, the draft Code provides guidance on specific issues that may arise when handling flexible working requests.

This includes guidance on requests that may involve reasonable adjustments, where the statutory flexible working framework and the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments may both be relevant.

When an employer receives a flexible working request, they should consider whether it may relate to a disability and keep this under review. Where the duty applies, the employer must consider whether the requested change, or any change to how the request is handled, should be made as a reasonable adjustment.

The draft Code does not remove, reduce or replace the Equality Act duty. It directs employers and employees to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's statutory Code of Practice on Employment and related guidance for further information.

Multiple requests

The government has stated its aim of improving access to flexible working. As flexible working becomes more common, organisations may receive multiple requests from employees whose preferred arrangements affect the same times, days or work locations.

To support employers and employees in these situations, the draft Code contains guidance at paragraphs 45 to 47 for when employers may need to think about the combined effect of flexible working requests in the relevant team or area. Where this is the case, an employer may find it useful to discuss how existing arrangements are working when considering a new request.

Different types and sizes of organisations

The law on flexible working and the guidance in the Code apply to all employers. However, the size, operations and available resources of an employer will affect how specific requests are handled and decided.

About you – individual respondent questions

To understand the views and experiences of certain groups, we'd like to ask some additional questions about your personal characteristics.

These questions are optional and will be used for monitoring and analysis purposes only. This will enable us to group your responses with those of people who share similar characteristics for analysis and reporting. You can also leave them blank.

Access to personal information will be restricted to those who need it for the purposes of administering and analysing the consultation. You will not be personally identifiable in any results we publish.

If you are answering on behalf of someone else, please enter information about the personal characteristics of that person.

We are asking about characteristics and responsibilities that may affect people's experiences of flexible working or their views on the draft Code. We have focused on disability and caring responsibilities to keep this section brief. We recognise that other personal circumstances and characteristics may also influence people’s experiences and views.

Health conditions

Caring responsibilities

About you – organisational respondent questions

Contacting you

Acas may want to contact respondents to discuss their response in more detail.

Respond to this consultation

Use our online form to respond to the consultation