Employment Rights Bill bitesize: flexible working

The Employment Rights Bill was published on 10 October 2024, setting out a wide range of ambitious workplace reforms. For an overview of the Bill, see our ‘headlines’ article.

In this series of ‘bitesize’ articles, we look at different key provisions of the Bill in more detail, consider the implications for employers and explain what the next steps will be. 

Flexible working: what does the Bill say? 

The statutory right to make a flexible working request has been enshrined in law for many years, but the Government wants to make flexible working ‘the default’. Changes to flexible working legislation under the Bill are intended to ensure that more requests are agreed by employers.  

Since 6 April 2024, employees have had a ’day one’ right to request to work flexibly, allowing them to make a request irrespective of their length of service. Other minor reforms taking effect on the same date included the right to make two requests in a 12-month period (instead of one), a reduction in the decision-making period from three to two months, and removal of the previous requirement for the employee to explain the effect the request would have on the organisation.   

Under the new Bill, if an employer wants to refuse a request, it must be for one of the specified statutory grounds (which remain unchanged). The Bill introduces an additional obligation on the employer, however, to ensure that it is reasonable to refuse the request on the specified ground. A notification of refusal must state the ground for refusing the application and why the employer considers the decision is reasonable. 

What does this mean for employers? 

Although the Government has outlined its intention to make flexible working ‘the default’, the reforms will not introduce any absolute right to, for example, work compressed hours or a four-day week. However, the changes will provide an enhanced right to request flexible working. Not only will the employer have to consider whether the refusal falls under one of the specified grounds, it will need to evidence that the refusal is reasonable, which is likely to depend on many factors such as the size and resources of the company. 

A flexible working policy is likely to be key, and an employer should ensure adequate training is provided to managers and those individuals who will be responsible for dealing with such requests.  

What are the next steps? 

The Government will be consulting over the details of the proposed changes, with a consultation likely to be issued in early 2025.  

Although we know change is on the horizon, it is unlikely that these reforms will come into force until 2026. Once details of the enhanced right are confirmed, employers should review their internal procedures in advance of the changes taking effect.