Changes to Flexible Working regulations

New regulations extending flexible working rights were put before Parliament on 11^th December 2023. The new Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which came into effect on the 6^th April 2024, state that a flexible working request can be made on day one of employment. This means that employees will no longer need to have 26 weeks’ continuous employment in order to make a flexible working request. 

The changes come after years of campaigning from flexible working charities and employment bodies to change the current regulations to make it easier to remain in work after having a baby, if you have other caring responsibilities or if you have disabilities that mean you can’t easily get into the office or work in an office environment.

According to the CIPD.org.uk, 60% of employees have flexible working arrangements in their current role. And it doesn’t look like the demand for flexible working and home working is going to go away any time soon with 71% of respondents saying that being able to have a flexible working pattern is important to them and 69% saying that the ability to work remotely is important.

They add “While a myth persists that flexible and hybrid working is only suitable for certain industries, an increase in access to different forms of flexibility, including different start and finish times, compressed hours, job-shares, the ability to swap shifts, etc, will help organisations offer better options to their employees, regardless of their job role or sector they work in”.

Katie Ash, Head of Employment Law says “This is a significant change to the flexible working regime and employers need to know that when recruiting new staff members, they will be able to make an application to work in a different way as soon as their employment starts. Employers need to ensure that their policies are updated and their managers are trained to ensure that applications are dealt with prop in order to avoid the risk of grievances and claims rising”.

What other changes are planned to flexible working regulations?

Other planned amendments as set out in the Employment Regulations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 include increasing the number of statutory requests permitted to be made in a 12-month period from one to two and reducing the amount of time that employers will have to deal with and respond to applications for flexible working from 3 months to 2 months. In addition, the requirement for employees to set out what effect the proposed flexibility would have on the employer's business and how any effect could be dealt with will no longer required. This piece if legislation has not yet been confirmed and the Government guidance states that it will come into force ‘on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument appoint’.

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