What are the proposed changes to flexible working rules?

Flexible working is a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, and may include:

• working from home;
• job-sharing;
• flexitime; or
• working compressed, annualised, or staggered hours.

Currently, all employees have the legal right to request flexible working, as long as they have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks.

A new bill, the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill, is currently making its way through Parliament, and will introduce several changes to the current rules on flexible working. This article discusses some of these changes and how employers may be effected.

What changes are being made?

The following changes have been outlined in the response:

• The right to request flexible working will become a day one right for all employees;
• Employers will have to consult with employees to look at alternative options before declining a flexible working request;
• Employees will be permitted to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month rolling period, as opposed to one;
• Employers will have to respond to flexible working requests within two months, not three; and
• Employees will not be required to set out the anticipated effects of their flexible working request on the employer or to provide suggestions as to how the request should be handled, which removes a large administrative burden for both sides.

How will these changes benefit employees?

These changes to flexible working may offer a variety of benefits to employees. Flexible working has shown to increase employee productivity and reduce the risk of stress and burnout. Additionally, flexible working may promote a healthy work-life balance, especially for any employee that may have additional responsibilities, such as caring for a dependant. By offering more flexibility in how an employee works, it gives them the opportunity to fit other commitments and activities around work, which may provide overall better job satisfaction.

What do these changes mean for my Company?

Although it may seem that these changes only provide employees with more control over how they work, these changes may be positive for employers too. By increasing the availability of flexible working, it may provide the following benefits to you as an employer:

• greater employee productivity;
• greater diversity in attracting applicants looking for ways to work flexibly;
• improved attendance rates of employees; and
• retention of valued employees.

If an employer cannot accommodate a request to work flexibly, they will be required to discuss alternative options before they can reject the request. For example, if it is not possible to change an employee’s working hours on all days, they could consider making the change for certain days instead.

Rejecting a flexible working request

There are currently eight reasons that an employer can provide for refusing a flexible working request, which consist of the following:

• it will cost too much;
• work cannot be reorganised among other staff;
• more staff cannot be recruited;
• there will be a negative effect on quality;
• there will be a negative effect on the business’ ability to meet customer demand;
• there will be a negative effect on the employees performance;
• there is not enough work for the employee to do when they have requested work; or
• there are planned changes to the business, for example, planning to reorganise or change the business and the flexible working request will not align with these plans.

The Bill is not proposing to make any changes to these reasons.

When will these changes come into force?

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill is currently passing through Parliament and successfully passed the Second Reading on 28^th October 2022, and is scheduled for the Third Reading on 24^th February 2023. There is no specified date as to when these changes will come into affect, but it will likely be during the year of 2023. Additionally, the implementation of flexible working requests becoming a day one right requires secondary legislation, which the government have said will be introduced “when parliamentary time allows”.

Do I need to change my employment documents to adapt to these changes?

Once this Bill becomes law, employers would be best advised to review their existing Flexible Working policy in their Staff Handbook, and it may be worth them starting to consider how and when to update their handbook if they haven’t done so recently. Additionally, employers should also consider whether they will communicate the changes to staff, as well as any training for HR staff so they are aware of any new processes for dealing with flexible working requests.

When these changes do come into force, our Peace of Mind Team can provide specific advice on how to manage flexible working within your business and our document audit team can review your existing policies and update them in line with these changes. Contact our team by emailing employment@warnegoodman.co.uk or calling 023 8071 7400.