Flexible Working Solicitors

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Our flexible working solicitors are on hand to help you put forward a flexible working request and ensure that your employer considers it in a reasonable manner. If you believe that your employer has not dealt with your request fairly, we will assess the merits of your case to determine whether you have a strong employment tribunal claim.

On top of this, we can help businesses put policies in place to manage requests, avoid discrimination claims and ensure that flexible working arrangements work for your company.

If you need advice on flexible working arrangements, call us on 0300 303 2071 or email info@witansolicitors.co.uk and we will organise a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our employment law experts.

Who Can Make a Flexible Working Request?

As of 6th April 2024, all employees have the right to apply for flexible working from the first day of a new job. Previously, this only applied to employees who had been employed for at least 26 weeks with the same employer.

However, this right does not extend to those who are self-employed, consultants or agency workers. It is also worth noting that employers do not have to automatically grant flexible working; they do, however, need to seriously consider the request.

Generally, the following steps are involved in dealing with a flexible working request:

1. An eligible employee submits a written request to their employer
2. The employer must consult the employee before making a decision
3. The employer approves, rejects or suggests different arrangements to the request within two months of the request being submitted (unless an extension has been agreed). 
4. The flexible arrangement is started on a trial period
5. The employee is offered an appeal if they are unhappy with the outcome of the request

If an employer accepts a request without a trial period, the employee’s contract will permanently change. It cannot be changed unless the employer agrees or the employee submits another request.

Employees now have the legal right to submit two statutory requests for flexible working in any twelve-month period. However, employers can allow more requests if they wish. Our flexible working solicitors can advise employers and employees on all aspects of dealing with requests.

What is Flexible Working?

In simple terms, flexible working refers to a way of working that meets the needs of an employee. Examples include:

• Job sharing – This is where two people share a role and split the hours between them equally or unequally
• Working from home – This is where employees do some or all of their work at home or another space away from the normal place of work
• Part-time – This allows employees to work less than full-time hours
• Compressed hours – This is where an employee works full-time hours every month but over fewer days
• Flexitime – This provides employees with the flexibility to start and finish when they wish as long as they work within agreed core hours and to the usual total hours in their contract
• Annualised hours – This is where the hours worked are spread over a full year
• Staggered hours – This is where an employee has different start, finish and break times from other workers
• Phased retirement – This allows employees to gradually reduce their hours before full retirement

Employers need to give reasonable consideration to all requests for flexible working practices. While employers do not have to agree to requests, they must consult with the employee and provide them with adequate reasons if they deny it. Our experienced flexible working lawyers excel at advising on making and approving flexible working requests.

How to Apply or Flexible Working

If you are an eligible employee, your statutory request for flexible working will need to:

• Be in writing
• Be dated
• Declare that it is a statutory request
• Detail the change that you are seeking and when you wish for the arrangement to take effect

State whether you have made a statutory request to your employer previously and, if so, when

How to Deal With a Flexible Working Request

If you have received a flexible working request from your employee, you must:

• Deal with the request in a fair and reasonable way
• Arrange a meeting to consult with the employee before making a final decision. Employers are required to show that they have fully considered the request taking into consideration any ways to negotiate a workable solution if the original request cannot be adopted.
• Allow the employee to be accompanied to the meeting
• Notify the employee of your decision within two months of the request
• Proactively provide the employee with the opportunity to appeal the decision

What Happens After a Decision is Reached?

If the employer accepts the request or an agreement is reached on a variation of the original request, the new arrangement will be a contractual variation to the employment agreement, unless a trial period is agreed. The employer will need to provide a written statement that details the changes to the terms and conditions within 1 month of the changes taking effect.

If there is a trial period, the employer and employee will need to agree on review points. The employer will also need to extend the 2-month decision period if the arrangement ends after the trial.

If the employer rejects the request, they will need to provide the employee with an opportunity to appeal the decision as recommended by by the Acas Code on Requests for Flexible Working.

Grounds for Refusal

Remember that employers only have a legal obligation to give requests reasonable consideration and provide appropriate reasons in the event of refusal. Common reasons for refusal include:

• The employee cannot do their job properly in the time allowed if they wish to reduce their hours
• There is not enough work during the periods the employee wishes to work
• The employee needs to interact with their colleagues to fulfil their role effectively
• There will be an impact on the quality
• The business cannot recruit additional staff
• There will be additional costs for the business
• The business will not be able to meet customer demand
• The business cannot reorganise work among existing employees
• There will be an impact on the employee’s performance
• There are planned structural changes

Do I Have to Attend a Meeting to Discuss My Request?

If you cannot attend the meeting with your employer, they may be entitled to treat your conduct as a withdrawal of your request. For example, if you fail to attend both the first meeting and the next meeting arranged by your employer to discuss your request, without good reason, your request can be withdrawn. Similarly, if you fail to attend both the first appeal meeting and the next meeting arranged for that purpose, without good reason, your employer can treat your request as withdrawn.

What If My Employer Has Not Followed the Correct Procedures?

If your employer has failed to properly deal with your request, our flexible working lawyers can help you bring an employment tribunal claim providing you have followed the statutory procedure and your employer:

• Did not deal with your request in a reasonable manner
• Did not notify you of their decision within 3 months
• Rejected your request for a reason other than one of the statutory grounds
• Rejected your request based on incorrect facts
• Treated your request as a withdrawn but the grounds entitling your employer to do so did not apply

Aside from the last ground, you cannot make an employment tribunal claim until your employer has notified you of their decision or the decision period applicable has ended. A claim must be submitted within 3 months of the date of the decision, the date the decision period ended or the date you were notified that your request had been withdrawn. It is possible to extend the time limit during ACAS early conciliation. This process must be started before the time limit has expired.

If the Employment Tribunal determines that your claim is well-founded, it may make either or both:

• A reasonable award of compensation paid by your employer
• An order for reconsideration of your request. In such cases, the date of the order will be treated as the new date of the request

If you believe that your employer did not reasonably consider your request, you can resign and make a constructive dismissal claim. Our specialist flexible working solicitors can help you determine whether this is the right course of action.

What If I Am Not Eligible to Make a Request?

If you are not eligible to make a statutory request, the good news is that you can still make an informal flexible working request. While your employer has no legal obligation to deal with your request under the statutory procedure, if they reject your request you may have a discrimination claim if:

• You wish to change your hours due to childcare arrangements
• You need time away from work to keep a series of medical appointments to address a long-standing health issue

What If My Employer Dismisses Me or Treats Me Unfavourably Because of My Request?

If you are dismissed in connection with your request to work flexibly, that dismissal would be regarded as automatically unfair, meaning you don’t have to have been employed for two years with the same employer to bring a claim for unfair dismissal.

If you are treated unfairly by your employer because you made a statutory request for flexible working, this amounts to ‘subjecting you to a detriment’. Examples of a detriment could be denying you training opportunities or withholding a reference. If you have been subject to a detriment owing to your flexible working request, you may be able to take your employer to an employment tribunal and claim compensation.

How We Can Help

If your flexible working request has been rejected by your employer, there is no need to worry. Our experienced employment lawyers have a wealth of experience helping employees protect their rights. We provide honest and practical legal advice and will help you resolve your claim without the need for an Employment Tribunal.

Why Choose Witan Solicitors?

Since 2014, our lawyers have been helping employers and employees deal with a range of flexible working requests. We have helped countless employees and businesses agree on flexible arrangements that benefit both parties. No matter your role or the size of the business, we can help. With us, you benefit from:

• 100+ years of combined practice law experience
• Representation from a Legal 500 recognised law firm
• Jargon-free legal advice
• Proven track record of helping businesses and employees achieve favourable outcomes
• Flexible working solicitors in Birmingham, London and Northampton