The UK right to request flexible working is the statutory right of every employee to ask their employer for a change to their working arrangements — including hours, times, and location — and to receive a decision within two months. Since 6 April 2024, this right has been available from day one of employment, with no qualifying period. Employers must handle requests in a reasonable manner and can only refuse on one of eight statutory business grounds.

This guide covers the legal basis for flexible working requests, the eight statutory grounds for refusal, the process employers must follow, and the consequences of getting it wrong.

Key takeaways

  • Every employee has a day-one statutory right to request flexible working from their first day of employment, under s.80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
  • An employer must consider the request within two months of receipt (extendable by one month with the employee’s agreement).
  • Refusal must be based on one of eight statutory business grounds — a vague “it won’t work” is not sufficient.
  • Employers can only make one statutory request per 12-month period — but may handle informal requests more frequently.
  • The employee may seek complaint to an employment tribunal if the employer fails to deal with the request in a reasonable manner.

What counts as flexible working

Flexible working is defined broadly. The employee can request any of the following under s.80F(2):

Type Example
Change to hours Reducing from 40 to 32 hours per week
Change to times Starting at 10am instead of 9am
Change to location Working from home three days per week
Compressed hours Working full-time hours over four days instead of five
Job sharing Splitting one role between two part-time employees
Term-time working Working only during school terms
Annualised hours Working set hours over the year, with flexibility in monthly scheduling

The request must be in writing and state the change sought, the proposed date of implementation, and any effects the employee believes the change would have.

The eight statutory grounds for refusal

An employer may only refuse a request on one or more of the grounds in s.80G of the Employment Rights Act 1996:

  1. Burden of additional costs — the change would impose costs that are detrimental to the business.
  2. Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand — unable to reorganise work among existing staff to meet demand.
  3. Detrimental impact on performance — the change would harm the quality or performance of the work.
  4. Insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work — not enough work to cover the proposed hours.
  5. Planned structural changes — the change would conflict with planned organisational changes (e.g., restructuring, redundancies).
  6. Detrimental effect on quality or performance — overlaps with ground 3.
  7. Insufficiency of skills, training, or qualifications — the employee lacks the skills to carry out the role under the proposed arrangements.
  8. Detrimental effect on ability to reorganise work among existing staff — overlaps with ground 2.

Employers must not cite ground 3 twice or ground 2 twice — each is a single ground. In practice, the most common grounds used are cost (ground 1), impact on performance (ground 3), and planned structural changes (ground 5).

The process

The Acas Code of Practice on Handling Requests to Work Flexibly sets out the recommended process:

  1. Employee submits request — in writing, stating the change, the date it should take effect, and the reason.
  2. Employer acknowledges — promptly, confirming receipt and the expected timeline.
  3. Meeting — the employer should hold a meeting to discuss the request within a reasonable time. The employee has the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague.
  4. Decision — the employer should give a decision in writing within two months of receipt (extendable by one month with agreement).
  5. If refused — the written response must state the business ground relied on and explain why that ground applies.
  6. Appeal — the employee may appeal, and the employer should hear the appeal within a further reasonable time.

The two-month period starts from the day the employer receives the request, not the day the employee sends it.

Day-one eligibility

Before 6 April 2024, employees needed 26 weeks of continuous service to make a statutory request. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 removed this qualifying period, making flexible working a day-one right.

This was a significant change. It means a new hire can request flexible working before completing a probation period. Employers cannot delay or refuse to process a request on the basis of the employee’s length of service.

The right to request vs. the right to have

The legislation gives employees a right to request and have the request considered — not a right to have the request granted. An employer who follows the statutory process, considers the request genuinely, and refuses on a valid ground has met its obligations.

However, the refusal must be a genuine application of the statutory test. An employer who refuses every flexible working request, or who applies the grounds in a formulaic way without genuine consideration, risks tribunal claims — particularly where the refusal is indirectly discriminatory.

Indirect discrimination risk

Flexible working refusals intersect with the Equality Act 2010. A blanket refusal to allow part-time or compressed working may constitute indirect discrimination where the burden falls disproportionately on one protected group — for example, women with childcare responsibilities or employees with disabilities.

The employer can justify indirect discrimination if the refusal is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim — but the justification must be specific to the individual request, not a general policy.

Common pitfalls

1. Not responding within two months

The two-month deadline is strict. An employer who ignores the request or delays beyond the deadline without the employee’s agreement is in breach of the statutory obligation.

2. Refusing without specifying a ground

A refusal that says “we can’t accommodate this” without identifying the specific statutory ground is not compliant. The written response must state the ground and explain why it applies.

3. Refusing all flexible working requests as a matter of policy

A blanket “we don’t allow remote work” policy does not comply with the legislation. Each request must be considered on its merits.

4. Failing to hold a meeting

The Acas Code recommends a meeting to discuss the request. While not strictly mandatory, failing to discuss the request is strong evidence that the employer did not consider it in a reasonable manner.

Putting it into practice

Five steps to build a compliant flexible working process:

  1. Create a written flexible working policy — set out the process, the grounds for refusal, and the timelines.
  2. Train managers on the eight statutory grounds so refusals are specific and defensible.
  3. Track requests — each request should have a unique reference, a meeting date, a decision date, and the ground relied on if refused.
  4. Build a refusal template that requires the decision-maker to identify the specific ground and explain how it applies.
  5. Review patterns — if a single manager or department refuses most requests, audit for indirect discrimination risk.
You can take advantage of the free 14 days trial and explore Leave Balance.

Tracking flexible working requests, managing the two-month deadline, and documenting the decision trail is straightforward with a system that captures requests, timestamps decisions, and alerts you before deadlines slip.

Sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. Flexible working obligations and deadlines can change — confirm current requirements with Acas or an employment solicitor.