Flexible Working Rights: From Day One of Your Job
As of 6 April 2024, the right to request flexible working applies from the first day of employment in England, Scotland, and Wales, you no longer have to wait 26 weeks. Employers must handle requests properly and can only refuse on specific grounds. This guide explains your rights, the process for making a request, and what to do if your employer refuses or ignores you.
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What changed in April 2024?
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 brought significant changes to flexible working rights, taking effect from 6 April 2024:
- ✓Right to request flexible working applies from day one, you no longer need 26 weeks of service
- ✓You can make TWO requests in any 12-month period (previously limited to one)
- ✓Employers must respond within TWO months, reduced from three
- ✓Employers must consult with you before refusing a request, they can no longer refuse without discussing it
- ✓The eight permitted reasons for refusal remain the same, but the process is now more robust
- ✓You are no longer required to explain the effect of your request on the employer and how it might be dealt with
What counts as flexible working?
Flexible working means any change to your hours, location, or pattern of work. You can request:
- ✓Part-time hours, reducing your hours from full-time
- ✓Compressed hours, working the same total hours in fewer days (e.g. four 10-hour days)
- ✓Flexitime, choosing when you start and finish within agreed core hours
- ✓Job sharing, splitting your role with another person
- ✓Working from home, all or part of the time (hybrid or fully remote)
- ✓Staggered hours, starting and finishing at different times from colleagues
- ✓Annualised hours, working a fixed total number of hours per year, with flexibility on when they are worked
- ✓Term-time working, working only during school term times
How to make a flexible working request
Your request must be in writing (letter or email). Since April 2024, you are no longer required to explain how the change would affect your employer, but it may still be helpful to do so in practice.
The eight permitted reasons for refusal
Your employer can only refuse a flexible working request on one of these eight statutory grounds:
- ✓The burden of additional costs
- ✓A detrimental effect on the employer's ability to meet customer demand
- ✓An inability to reorganise work among existing staff
- ✓An inability to recruit additional staff
- ✓A detrimental impact on quality
- ✓A detrimental impact on performance
- ✓Insufficiency of work during the periods you propose to work
- ✓Planned structural changes to the business
What to do if your request is refused
Flexible working and disability
If you have a disability, you have an additional route beyond the statutory flexible working procedure. Under the Equality Act 2010, your employer has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate your disability. Flexible working may be a reasonable adjustment in many cases:
- ✓If working from home reduces your symptoms or enables you to manage your condition better, this can be a reasonable adjustment
- ✓Reduced hours may be a reasonable adjustment if your condition affects your stamina or ability to sustain full-time work
- ✓Adjusted start/finish times may be a reasonable adjustment if your condition affects you at particular times of day (e.g. a health condition that is worse in the mornings)
- ✓The reasonable adjustments duty applies from day one, it is not limited to 26 weeks or affected by the statutory flexible working cap on requests
- ✓If your employer fails to make a reasonable adjustment, you can bring an Employment Tribunal claim for disability discrimination
Flexible working for carers
The Carer's Leave Act 2023, which also came into force in April 2024, gives carers a right to unpaid leave, but for flexible working arrangements, the flexible working right is the main route:
- ✓There is no separate flexible working right specifically for carers, you use the same statutory flexible working request procedure
- ✓However, refusing a carer's request for flexible working without proper grounds may be indirect sex discrimination (as more women than men are carers)
- ✓The new right to unpaid carer's leave (5 days per year from April 2024) is separate from flexible working
- ✓Carers UK (carersuk.org) can provide specialist advice on flexible working for carers
Get instant help right now
A Citizens Advice appointment can take weeks. Our free assistant is available 24/7 with no appointment, giving you clear, step-by-step answers about your exact situation, what to do next, and the deadlines that matter.
Need to take action? It can draft a ready-to-send formal letter for you (optional, from £4.99).
England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland.
Frequently asked questions
Can I request flexible working from day one?
Yes. Since 6 April 2024, you have the right to request flexible working from the first day of your employment. You no longer need to wait 26 weeks. You can make up to two flexible working requests in any 12-month period.
Can my employer refuse my flexible working request?
Yes, but only on one of eight specific statutory grounds (such as detrimental impact on performance, inability to reorganise work, or burden of additional costs). Since April 2024, your employer must also consult with you before refusing. A refusal without consultation or without a permitted reason may be challenged at an Employment Tribunal.
How long does my employer have to respond to a flexible working request?
From 6 April 2024, your employer must respond within 2 months (56 days) of receiving your written request. If they fail to respond in time, you can bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal. The tribunal can award up to 8 weeks' pay as compensation for procedural failures.
What if my flexible working request is refused because of my disability?
If you have a disability, you have two separate routes. First, the statutory flexible working procedure. Second, and more powerfully, the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments, which requires your employer to consider flexible working as a potential adjustment to accommodate your disability. Refusing a reasonable adjustment can amount to disability discrimination with higher potential compensation at tribunal.
Can I be dismissed for requesting flexible working?
No. Dismissing someone for making a flexible working request is automatically unfair dismissal, you do not need 2 years' service to bring this claim. If your employer retaliates against you for requesting flexible working, keep records of everything and contact ACAS immediately.
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