Employee Relations (Flexible Working) Bill – The Bitesized Edition

Since lockdown in 2020, many employees are enjoying a more balanced way of working, and not just those with child care or caring responsibilities. Flexible working has a positive impact on many employees’ work-life balance.

Legislation that governs flexible working was introduced previously to enable an employee to formally request a variation to their standard hours to allow them more flexibility to work around childcare or other personal commitments.

The current rules surrounding the statutory right to request flexible working are, in summary:

• The employee making the request must have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service;
• The employee is required to make the request in writing, and the employer has 3 months to make a decision;
• The employer must deal with the application in a reasonable manner;
• The employer can only refuse a request on the grounds of one of eight reasons set out in the legislation; and
• Only one request can be made in any 12 month period.

Proposed new rules

The Employee Relations (Flexible Working) Bill was proposed in June 2022 and is now currently at the 2^nd reading stage in the House of Lords. The 2^nd reading is a stage where members of the Lords debate the key principles and main purpose of a Bill and flag up any concerns.

The Bill proposes the following amendments:

• For the right to make a request to be a day-one right, with no continuous service requirement;
• The employee can make two requests in any 12 month period;
• The employer will have 2 months, instead of 3, to make their decision;
• Employees will not need to explain in their application the reason for the request or the impact it may have on the employer; and
• Employers will have to consult with the employee before refusing an application.

There are currently no timescales to say when these changes may happen. It will be especially important for employers to keep track on this Bill to ensure they make amendments to any current policies they have in place for flexible working.

Some employers may see the benefit of employees working flexibly and may already have processes in place that allow everyone to make requests and some may not want to wait until the changes are introduced to reap the benefits of being ahead of their competitors. There is a benefit for employers to allow flexibility such as, positive employee engagement, increased productivity and attracting new talent.

Need to know more?

For more information on these changes or assistance with updating your policies or contracts, you can contact our Employment Client Services team here, or by calling the team 0344 2640102.