UK · Working patterns

Flexible working requests

UK employees have a statutory day-one right to request flexible working since April 2025. Employees can make two requests per rolling 12 months. The employer must respond within 2 months, consult with the employee, and can only refuse on eight statutory grounds.

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Why this matters right now

The April 2025 reforms (Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023) delivered the biggest change to flexible working since the right to request was introduced in 2003. Day-one right, two requests per year, 2-month response, and consultation duty. Employers are still catching up procedurally - many refusals lodged in 2025 have been reversed on appeal because the employer failed to consult before deciding. Anyone requesting flexible working in 2026 has more leverage than at any point since the right existed.

What flexible working means

Any change to how, when or where you work: part-time, compressed hours, flexi-time, annualised hours, term-time only, job sharing, home working, hybrid, or fully remote.

The 2024 reforms

  • Day-one right (previously required 26 weeks service).
  • Two requests per 12 months (previously one).
  • Employer must respond within 2 months (previously 3).
  • Consultation duty before refusal.
  • No need to explain business impact in the request.

How to request

In writing, dated, stating it is a statutory request under section 80F ERA 1996, specifying the change (from when, and how), noting any previous request in the last 12 months.

Employer response process

  1. Acknowledge within 28 days.
  2. Arrange a meeting (companion right applies).
  3. Consider against the eight statutory refusal grounds.
  4. Consult with the employee - explore alternatives, trial periods.
  5. Reach a decision.
  6. Confirm in writing with reasons.
  7. Offer an appeal (best practice).

The eight refusal grounds

Section 80G ERA 1996. Only these grounds allow refusal:

  1. Additional costs.
  2. Detrimental effect on customer demand.
  3. Inability to reorganise work.
  4. Inability to recruit additional staff.
  5. Detrimental impact on quality.
  6. Detrimental impact on performance.
  7. Insufficient work in the proposed hours.
  8. Planned structural changes.

Trial periods

Employers can propose a 3-6 month trial period with written agreement, objective success criteria, regular reviews, and a clear default if the trial concludes without a decision (usually the flexible pattern becomes permanent).

Refusal remedies

  1. Appeal internally.
  2. Fresh request in the next 12-month period.
  3. Tribunal claim under section 80H if procedure was defective.
  4. Discrimination claim if refusal disadvantages a protected characteristic.

Tribunal compensation capped at 8 weeks pay; discrimination claims uncapped.

Interaction with reasonable adjustments

Where the employee is disabled under the Equality Act 2010, flexible working can be a reasonable adjustment. Reasonable adjustment claims are stronger than flexible working claims - uncapped compensation, no service qualifier, direct discrimination route.

Case example: refusal reversed on appeal

A financial services firm in early 2025 refused an employee's request for a compressed four-day week on the grounds of "detrimental effect on customer demand". The refusal letter did not evidence which customer demand would be affected, and no consultation meeting had been held before the decision. On appeal, HR reversed the decision - the flexibility clause in the contract and the actual working pattern demonstrated the customer-demand concern was speculative. The employee started the four-day week within a month of the appeal. The lesson: the eight statutory refusal grounds require genuine evidence, not a bare citation. Refusals unsupported by specifics are usually reversible on appeal.

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Frequently asked questions

Can any employee request flexible working?
Yes since April 2025. Day-one right for all employees regardless of service length. Workers and self-employed contractors do not have the statutory right.
How many requests can I make?
Two per rolling 12-month period since April 2025 (previously one). The count resets from the date of decision.
How long does my employer have to respond?
Two months from receipt of the request (reduced from three months in April 2025). Delay may itself be a breach.
What if my employer refuses?
Options: internal appeal, fresh request after 12 months, tribunal claim if procedure was defective, discrimination claim if the refusal disadvantages a protected characteristic. Discrimination claims are uncapped.
Can I request flexible working as a reasonable adjustment?
Yes if you are disabled under the Equality Act 2010. Reasonable adjustment claims are stronger - uncapped compensation, no service qualifier.

Sources and further reading

General information about UK employment law, not legal advice. For your situation, contact ACAS or an employment-law solicitor.