24 May Flexible Working Law Changes
Last year, the government announced that the existing guidelines on flexible working would be changing, and on 6 April of this year those proposed changes took effect.
Below, we look at what the rules used to be and the key changes that will determine how employers manage new flexible working requests.
Types of flexible working
Flexible working is any type of work schedule that doesn’t follow the usual nine-to-five. This includes:
- Hybrid working – a combination of home and office working
- Condensed hours – when an employee works their weekly contracted hours over a shorter span of time, e.g. over four days rather than five
- Flexitime – the employee is able to start and finish their working day at their convenience, but still works their total contracted hours
- Remote working – the employee works entirely from home.
How will the guidelines change from 6 April?
Before the recent changes, employees would have to wait until they’d been employed in their role for 26 weeks before making a flexible work request. They would also have to explain how their desired flexible working arrangement would work for the employer. Under the previous rules, the employer would have three months to consider the request, and employees were only permitted to make one flexible working request per year.
The new rules feature several key changes that work more favourably for employees. have changed the existing guidelines to be more favourable to employees. From 6 April 2024, employees can now:
- Make a flexible work request from the first day of their employment
- Make two flexible working requests per year
- Have their request considered within two months, down from three
- Submit their request without having to explain how the arrangement would work for the employer
- Be notified if their employer intends to reject their request, to allow for a civil conversation and amicable outcomes.
If you have any questions about the recent changes to flexible working and how they might impact you or your business, one of our friendly expert advisers would be happy to chat to you. Simply contact 01606 863400 and/or email info@premierins.co.uk