Review your policies and approach to flexible working

What is the current situation?

Employees already have a legal right to request flexible working from their first day of employment.

An employer must consult with the employee before refusing a flexible working request. 

Employers can refuse the request for the following eight business reasons: 

• It will create extra costs that will damage the business
• The work cannot be reorganised among other staff
• No one can be recruited to do the work
• It will affect quality
• It will affect performance
• It will affect the ability to meet customer demand
• There’s a lack of work to do during the proposed working times
• The employer is planning structural changes to the workforce.

So what’s changing and when?

The Government’s changes in the Employment Rights Act are intended to encourage employers to accept flexible working requests. 

A Government consultation on improving access to flexible working will close on 30 April 2026. It is seeking views on:

• a proposed new light touch process for employers consulting with employees where a request cannot be immediately agreed;
• what training, resources and support can help businesses navigate flexible working requests; and

other ways to improve access to flexible working. Regulations will spell out a specific consultation process that must be followed by employers before they refuse any flexible working request. The legislation will also require that any refusal for one of the eight reasons must be reasonable. The employer will therefore want to be able to show that this reason genuinely applies, and that it was reached through a fair, evidence-based decision-making process. 

The employer will also be required to explain to the employee in writing why the decision to refuse the request is reasonable.

These reforms are expected to take effect in 2027.

What you need to do

The timing of some of these actions will depend on when the detail of the new laws is finalised and when the changes come into force. However, you can start to plan now:  

• Review your flexible working policy and practices and build in an evidence-based approach so that if you have to refuse a request you can show it is reasonable to do so. 
   
• Train your managers and decision makers. Ensure they understand how to deal with a flexible working request, including how to make and record ‘evidence-based’ decisions.
   
• Consider your organisation’s current approach to flexible working requests. Is it open-minded enough? Even currently, your default position should not be ‘No’.