By law (Employment Rights Act 1996), employees have a statutory (legal) right to request flexible working.
Who the right applies to
The statutory right to request flexible working applies to anyone legally classed as an employee.
The right applies from the first day of employment.
Parents and carers
If an employee has children or caring responsibilities, they must follow the same request procedure as other employees.
Employers should handle all requests in the same way, including when someone:
- has children
- cares for someone
- is returning from maternity, paternity or adoption leave
What an employer must do
If an employer receives a statutory flexible working request, they must:
- accept the request unless there's a genuine business reason not to
- consult with the employee before making a decision – unless they accept it in full
- handle the request reasonably, in line with the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working
- make a final decision, including any appeal, within a maximum of 2 months
The importance of following the Acas Code
If an employee makes a statutory request, the employer and employee must follow the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working.
If a case reaches an employment tribunal, the judge will consider whether the employer and employee have followed the Acas Code.
Requests made before 6 April 2024
The law on statutory requests for flexible working changed on 6 April 2024.
Previously, employees:
- needed to work for their employer for at least 26 weeks to make a statutory request
- were limited to one request in any 12-month period
- had to include in their request any effects the change could have on their work or the organisation, and how they or their employer might deal with them
If an employee made a statutory request before 6 April 2024, the previous law applies. This means the employer:
- must accept the request unless there's a genuine business reason not to
- must handle the request reasonably, in line with the previous Acas Code of Practice on handling flexible working requests
- must give a final decision, including any appeal, within a maximum of 3 months
- should invite the employee to a meeting to discuss the request before making a decision
Any requests made before 6 April 2024 will count towards the current limit for making statutory requests.
For requests made before 6 April 2024, use the previous Acas Code of Practice on handling flexible working requests on the UK Government Web Archive.
Protection from dismissal and detriment
By law, employees who make, or plan to make, a statutory flexible working request are protected from:
- unfair dismissal – if someone is dismissed for making a flexible working request, it will be treated as an automatic unfair dismissal
- detriment
Detriment means someone experiences one or both of the following:
- being treated worse than before
- having their situation made worse
Examples of detriment could be:
- they experience bullying
- they experience harassment
- their employer turns down their training requests without good reason
- they are overlooked for promotions or development opportunities
- their employer reduces their hours without good reason
Requests that do not use the statutory procedure
Employees and employers can agree flexible working arrangements without using the statutory procedure.
In this situation:
- they do not need to follow the statutory procedure and Acas Code
- there's no statutory protection from unfair dismissal and detriment under the law on flexible working requests