Employees will soon be able to request flexible working on day one of new job, under government plans

New recruits will be able to ask for arrangements like job-sharing, compressed hours, flexi-time, part-time and working from home from day one of their new job, rather than waiting 26 weeks.

Employers will be required to consult with workers and discuss alternative options before rejecting a request.

Under the existing legal framework, all employees can make a flexible working request after 26 weeks in a job. One request can be made every 12 months, and employers have three months to respond.

Currently, employees must set out the effects of the requested flexible working arrangement to their bosses, but this is also to be removed by the proposed legislation.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said that the period of time within which employers must respond to a request has also been reduced to two months. The amount of times an employee can make the request is now twice in the 12-month period.

Around 1.5 million low paid workers will also be given even more flexibility, with the new law coming into force  removing exclusivity clause restrictions, allowing them to work for multiple employers if they wish.

Happier, more productive employees

Minister for Small Business Kevin Hollinrake said: “Giving staff more say over their working pattern makes for happier employees and more productive businesses. Put simply, it’s a no-brainer.

“Greater flexibility over where, when, and how people work is an integral part of our plan to make the UK the best place in the world to work.”

It is hoped that the new measures could add more workers to the employment market as businesses struggle to recruit enough staff to fill roles.

Since the pandemic, over 630,000 working age adults in the UK have become economically inactive, while job vacancies have reached almost record highs.

More than 9 million people between the ages of 16 and 64 are now outside the labour market altogether, a group made up of students, those with long-term health conditions, early retirees and carers for young children or elderly relatives.

Research has shown that jobs mentioning hybrid or flexible working, which also includes job shares and working irregular hours, have steadily increased since the pandemic.

Go further to become "the norm"

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said that flexible working kept "mums in work" and helped close the gender pay gap but the government needs to go further.

"But we’d like the government to go much further to ensure that flexible work now becomes the norm," said Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC.

"Ministers must change the law so that every job advert makes clear what kind of flexible working is available in that role. And they should give workers the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job - not just the right to ask," she said.

Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, which represents the human resources industry, said: "We’ve been calling for this change as it will help create fairer, more inclusive workplaces and improve access to flexible jobs for many people. Older workers, those with caring responsibilities and people with health conditions are among those who will particularly benefit.

"This new right will help normalise conversations about flexibility at the start of the employment relationship, with significant benefits for employees in terms of wellbeing and work-life balance."

One HR leader said that the government needs to encourage employers to accept flexible working requests, without this, the benefits to diversity, engagement and retention may be lost.

“There does remain some reticence around embracing flexible working across the board, so the changes around a day one request for employees and a more timely response from the employer will at least serve to challenge remaining preconceptions around flexible working.

“And where requests are granted, employees will be more empowered and autonomous in how and when they work, and employers will reap the reward in the widening of the recruitment pool.”

This is not a right to flexible working

Susan Kelly, partner in the Employment practice at Winckworth Sherwood, was more circumspect.

“It is important to remember that this will still only be a right to request flexible working, not a right to flexible working. 

“It seems that employers will still be able to turn down such requests for one of the broad-ranging statutory reasons, such as ‘detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand’, ‘detrimental effect on performance’ or ‘inability to reorganise work among existing staff”.

“However, some of the restrictions are to be eased, so that two requests can be made in a 12-month period, instead of only one, and removing the requirement for employees to set out how the effects of their flexible working request might be dealt with by their employer.”