As life has slowly returned to reality following the events of the pandemic, many trends besides the making of banana bread have remained in demand. The pandemic forced many employers to get up to speed with technology and hybrid working arrangements. There is now a reluctance amongst employees to return to work in the office full-time after working with greater flexibility. The demand for the government to review the legislation surrounding flexible working has increased and resulted in the proposed The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill 2022-23.
The office for national statistics found that almost half of working adults (49%) reported working from home at some point in the past seven days in the first half of 2020. In the most recent period (25 January to 5 February 2023), approximately 40% of working adults reported working from home at some point in the past seven days.
Current legislation
Under Part, VIIIA of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended), employees with at least 26 weeks’ continuous service have the right to request a change to their working hours, times, or location and have that request considered by their employer in line with a statutory Code of Practice.
Employers are obliged to respond to such flexible working requests within three months. After making such an application, that individual employee is prohibited from making another request for the following 12 months. Employees are also currently obliged in their application to explain what effect their request might have on the employer and how to deal with that.
New proposals
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill 2022-23 sets out the new proposals for flexible working and is set to have a significant impact. The consultation response states that an estimated additional 2.2 million employees will be eligible to request flexible working if the proposals become law.
The Bill would amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 to change the current right to request flexible working in the following ways:-
- Employees will no longer have to wait 26 weeks to be able to request flexible working and will have the right to make the request from day one;
- Employees can make two flexible working requests per 12 months instead of the one currently allowed;
- By removing the requirement for employees to explain in their applications what effect they think it will have on the employer;
- By reducing the deadline for an employer decision on flexible working requests from three months to two months;
- By making it a requirement that employers consult with the employee prior to refusing an application. Employers must consider an alternative to any request they propose to refuse.
There is time for employers to start planning on how they can implement changes, as there is currently no guideline that sets out when we can expect these changes to take effect. Practical steps for employers would be to seek to make and implement flexible working policies and update any flexible work policies currently in place. Once implemented, the Bill would apply to England, Scotland, and Wales but not Northern Ireland, where employment law is devolved.
You can read more about the proposed changes here – Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill 2022-23: Progress of the Bill – House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
If you require assistance submitting a flexible working request as an employee or are an employer that seeks advice about preparing for the new changes, please contact Georgia within our employment team – .
