A folded paper with the words work, life, balance and a '?' resting on a computer keyboard
Workplace rights to become more flexible

In December 2022, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) released a response to their 2021 consultation on flexible working.  That consultation focused on changes to the existing rights to request flexible working, with a view to encouraging the uptake of flexible working and make it the default.

In their consultation response, BEIS confirm that the Government will introduce legislation to:

Make the right to request flexible working a ‘day one’ right (currently this right only applies to those with 26 weeks’ continuous service)

Require employers to consult with their employees before rejecting a request for flexible working.

Allow employees to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period, and require employers to respond in two months (currently only one request can be made in a 12-month period and employers have three months to respond).

Remove the requirement for the employee to set out how their employer might deal with the effects of a flexible working request.

The first of these changes (making the right to request flexible working a day one right) will be introduced via secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.  The other changes are already included in a Private Members’ Bill (the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Bill)) currently passing through Parliament, which the Government is supporting.

The consultation also confirms that the Government will:

  • Develop better guidance for employers and employees to raise awareness and understanding around temporary requests for flexible working.
  • Launch a call for evidence on how informal or ad hoc flexible working operates in practice.

However, no change will be made to the current list of business reasons for rejecting a flexible working request.  Although the majority of those responding to the consultation supported reducing this list, there was a difference in views between employers and employees and no clear picture of how this could be achieved in practice. The Government has therefore concluded that, rather than changing the list itself, employers and employees need to have clearer discussions about the reasons applicable in any case and how these might be addressed.