{"id":10167,"date":"2025-01-21T11:51:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T11:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?post_type=resources&#038;p=10167"},"modified":"2026-03-19T09:57:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T09:57:27","slug":"flexible-working-employee-rights-bill","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-strategy\/flexible-working\/flexible-working-employee-rights-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Employment Rights Bill essentials: Flexible working requests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b5fc8583 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:25px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7fc3d43a wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<p class=\"\">by <strong>Robert Shore,<\/strong> HR Markets Insights Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is changing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Employees currently have a day-one right to make a statutory request for flexible working, i.e. to request to alter the hours that they are required to work; the times that they are required to work; and\/or where they are required to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Employers have an existing duty to deal with requests in a reasonable manner. They may refuse a request if they have a valid business reason for doing so but must consult the employee &#8211; e.g. invite them to a meeting to discuss it &#8211; before rejecting the request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group lnrs-hide-block-on-desktop has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-bleach-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a36fa716 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:14px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:15px;padding-bottom:15px;padding-left:15px\">\n<p class=\"\">Upcoming webinar<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Employment Rights Act 2025 \u2013 a user\u2019s guide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>When:<\/strong> Thursday, 22 January 2026, 11AM GMT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">In this webinar, employment law specialist Darren Newman sets out a road map to guide you safely through the implementation of the Act\u2019s many different strands \u2013 including what to look out for, and what not to forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/employment-rights-act-2025-user-guide-webinar\/?intcmp=orange-cta|resources|webinar|save-your-spot-now\" style=\"border-radius:25px\">Save your spot now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">There are currently eight valid business reasons for refusing a flexible working request. They are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-brightmine-list-item-spacing-small\">\n<li class=\"\">the burden of additional costs;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">an inability to reorganise work among existing staff;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">an inability to recruit additional staff to do the work;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">a detrimental impact on quality;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">a detrimental impact on performance;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">planned structural changes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">While in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/next-steps-to-make-work-pay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Next steps to make work pay<\/a>&nbsp;the Government says that it will make flexible working the default, the changes in the Employment Rights Bill actually keep the option for employers to refuse a request for flexible working on the existing grounds listed above, which are being retained. However, if employers wish to reject a request:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-brightmine-list-item-spacing-small\">\n<li class=\"\">the refusal will need to be&nbsp;<em>reasonable<\/em>&nbsp;on the grounds of one or more of the existing eight business reasons; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">employers will need to explain to the employee why the refusal is reasonable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">These changes will create a new &#8220;reasonableness&#8221; test, so that in future employment tribunals will be able to consider the reasonableness of an employer&#8217;s decision to accept or reject a request. Currently, if an employee takes a claim on flexible working to a tribunal, the claim may succeed only if the employer&#8217;s decision was based on incorrect facts or if the manner the employer dealt with the application was not reasonable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The Employment Rights Bill also gives the Government the option to introduce regulations to expand on the existing requirement for employers to consult employees about their flexible working application. When consulting with an employee, employers would need to follow a specified process, which would be set out in the regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Practical implications for employers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-brightmine-list-item-spacing-small\">\n<li class=\"\">The changes may lead to more flexible working requests and an increase in flexible working, which the Government is seeking to establish as the default where not unreasonable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">HR will need to train line managers in the new requirements &#8211; particularly the need for a refusal to be reasonable &#8211; and will need to review how their organisation handles flexible working requests.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">There may be more employment tribunal claims, where there will be greater scope for scrutiny of an employer&#8217;s grounds in dealing with a request.&nbsp;Employers will need to consider carefully the &#8220;reasonableness&#8221; of their response to a request.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-alabaster-gray-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a35945ca wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did you know?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">In Great Britain, 96.5% of businesses are small or micro businesses and account for 29.0% of all employees, according to research cited in the <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/media\/6712491cb40d67191077b36d\/impact-assessment-make-flexible-working-the-default-_where-not-unreasonable_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Making flexible working the default impact assessment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Smaller employers (5-49 employees) are less likely (85%) to report any staff taking up flexible working compared with those in larger workplaces (99%). Staff employed in larger firms (250 or more staff) are more likely to report taking up flexible working (64%) than medium-sized workplaces (55%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Larger employers are more than twice as likely to receive flexible working requests than smaller workplaces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happens next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The Government has said it will publish a code of practice to assist employers to consider requests and meet their obligations under the new reasonableness test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Regulations are expected to set out the process an employer needs to follow when consulting with an employee about their request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The Employment Rights Bill is unlikely to receive Royal Assent before summer 2025 and the Government has said that most of the changes will not take effect until 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-alabaster-gray-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-80fb368b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Government&#8217;s rationale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">&#8220;Having the ability to vary the time, hours and place of work is key to the functioning of the UK&#8217;s flexible labour market. The right to request flexible working provides a framework, alongside the wider cultural changes in flexible working, through which employers and employees can remove barriers to flexible working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">&#8220;Although there is a strong demand for more flexible jobs, the number of employees that request flexible working is relatively low. The proposed changes aim to make it easier to access flexible working and ensure requests for flexible working are only rejected where it is reasonable to do so. This could encourage more employees to request flexible working thus allowing a greater number of employees and employers to realise the documented benefits (e.g., improved employee wellbeing, staff retention and productivity).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">&#8220;The Government intervenes in the labour market to extend individual employment rights for efficiency and equity reasons. A well-functioning labour market, which provides necessary rights and protections, provides employees with high quality jobs while also empowering business to operate competitively.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Source:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/media\/6712491cb40d67191077b36d\/impact-assessment-make-flexible-working-the-default-_where-not-unreasonable_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Impact assessment: Making flexible working the default&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column lnrs-hide-block-on-mobile is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"border-left-color:var(--wp--preset--color--secondary-gray);border-left-width:2px;padding-left:10px;flex-basis:30%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained wp-container-3 is-position-sticky\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-secondary-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"\/uk\/tag\/employment-rights-act\/?intcmp=resource|era-hub|explore-our-era-hub\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:25px;border-top-right-radius:25px;border-bottom-left-radius:25px;border-bottom-right-radius:25px\">Explore our ERA resources<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-bleach-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-81430435 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:14px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:15px;padding-bottom:15px;padding-left:15px\">\n<p class=\"\">Upcoming webinar<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unfair dismissal changes \u2013 are your probationary processes ready for 1 July?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Wednesday, 13 May 2026 11am GMT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"\/uk\/resources\/talent-management\/employee-relations\/employment-rights-act-2025-trade-union-access\/?intcmp=orange-cta|resources|webinar|save-your-spot-now\" style=\"border-radius:25px\">Secure your spot<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group lnrs-hide-block-on-mobile has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad1af2a0 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-secondary-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-secondary-gray-background-color has-background\" style=\"margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Read more articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-query is-layout-flow 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style=\"color: #000000\">The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced the most significant changes to UK employment law in decades, but its &#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource\" style=\"background-color: #E9E7E4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/employment-rights-act-2025-how-do-you-prepare-for-the-unknown\/\"><div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource_image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/16190045\/stressed-professional-working-on-laptop.webp);\"><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__inner_content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-top\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__categories\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category\">Commentary and Insights<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"title\" style=\"color: #00728B\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/employment-rights-act-2025-how-do-you-prepare-for-the-unknown\/\">Employment Rights Act 2025: How do you prepare for the unknown?<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"color: #000000\">Employers and workers are trying to make sense of the new rules on guaranteed hours for zero and &#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource\" style=\"background-color: #E9E7E4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/employment-rights-act-phased-approach\/\"><div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource_image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/26144638\/person-having-conversation-holding-glass.webp);\"><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__inner_content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-top\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__categories\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category\">Commentary and Insights<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"title\" style=\"color: #00728B\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/employment-rights-act-phased-approach\/\">Employment Rights Act: Is the phased approach helping or hindering HR?<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"color: #000000\">The Employment Rights Act 2025 is being rolled out in phases, giving HR teams time to plan but &#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fcdab8bb wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:25px;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-large-font-size\">About the author<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7fc3d43a wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-thumbnail is-resized is-style-rounded\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/17154338\/Robert_Shore-150x150.webp\" alt=\"Robert Shore, HR Market Insights Editor at Brightmine\" class=\"wp-image-10115\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:100px;height:100px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Robert Shore<\/strong><br>HR Markets Insight Editor, Brightmine<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Robert has over 20 years&#8217; experience of publishing and journalism. At Brightmine he creates and commissions content for webinars and podcasts and for the Commentary and insights tool.<br>He has a Graduate Diploma in Law from the University of Law. He was formerly an International employment law editor at Brightmine, and prior to that worked as an arts journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-7738455e92639b6ca978a70c2bd58e7f\">Connect with Robert on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/robert-shore-01494059\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-bbb7e64f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">Start your free trial today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\">Register today to gain free 7-day access to the Brightmine HR &amp; Compliance Centre and stay up to date, compliant and save valuable time<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-primary-white-color has-secondary-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/hrcentre.uk.brightmine.com\/freetrial-login\/?loggedInUrl=%2Ffreetrial%2Fnew-user%2F&amp;registrationUrl=%2Ffreetrial%2Fnew-user%2F&amp;intcmp=hrcc-resources|cta-2-col|light|banner|hrcentreuk-freetrial|take-a-free-trial\" style=\"border-radius:100px\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Take a free trial<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We look at the proposed changes to the right to make a flexible working request under the Employment Rights Bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":10436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"wp-custom-template-new-resources","categories":[53],"tags":[102],"topic":[59,32],"class_list":["post-10167","resources","type-resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c-and-i","tag-employment-rights-act","topic-employment-law-updates","topic-flexible-working"],"_lnrs_read_more":"","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Employment Rights Bill essentials: Flexible working requests | Brightmine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We look at the proposed changes to the right to make a flexible working request under the Employment Rights Bill.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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