Millions of workers could gain stronger rights to flexible working under forthcoming employment law reforms that will make it harder for employers to reject reasonable requests without proper justification.
The Government has confirmed its approach following a consultation on improving access to flexible working, with reforms designed to shift workplace discussions towards accepting flexible arrangements where they are reasonable and feasible.
The changes will introduce a new reasonableness test for statutory flexible-working requests.
Employers will still be able to turn down requests where there are legitimate business reasons, but they will need to consult with the employee and explain why refusing the particular arrangement is reasonable.
For workers, this represents an important development from the current system.
Read the Government’s flexible working consultation outcome
Flexible working is already a day-one right
Employees in Great Britain already have the statutory right to request flexible working from their first day of employment.
The change took effect in April 2024 and was covered at the time by The Workers Union in our guide to the legal right to request flexible working from the first day of employment.
However, having the right to make a request is not the same as having a right for that request to be accepted.
Under the existing framework, employers can refuse statutory requests using one or more of eight specified business reasons.
These include additional costs, an inability to reorganise work among existing staff, difficulty recruiting additional employees, detrimental effects on quality or performance, an inability to meet customer demand, insufficient work during the proposed periods and planned structural changes.
The forthcoming reforms are intended to strengthen this process considerably.
Employers will have to show why a refusal is reasonable
Under the new system, employers will be required to accept statutory flexible-working requests that are reasonable and feasible.
Where an employer believes a request cannot be accommodated, a consultation process will have to take place.
If the request is ultimately rejected, the employer will need to identify one or more of the existing statutory business reasons and explain the basis for its decision and why the refusal is reasonable.
This should encourage a more constructive conversation about whether an alternative arrangement could work.
For example, where working entirely from home is impossible because of the nature of a job, other possibilities could include:
- different starting and finishing times
- compressed hours
- part-time working
- job sharing
- term-time arrangements
- hybrid working where the role allows it
- changes to shift patterns.
The Government itself uses the example of a bus driver who obviously cannot drive a bus from home but might still potentially work part-time, compressed hours or a term-time arrangement.
The Workers Union’s existing Flexible Working & Work-Life Balance guide explains the different types of flexible arrangements workers can consider.
Workers could challenge unreasonable refusals
One of the most significant elements is the ability to challenge the reasonableness of an employer’s decision.
Government consultation material says that where an employee believes a request has been unreasonably rejected, they could bring an Employment Tribunal claim under the new test.
A tribunal finding in the worker’s favour could require the employer to reconsider its decision and could result in compensation of up to eight weeks’ pay, subject to the applicable statutory weekly-pay cap.
This does not mean workers will automatically be entitled to whatever working arrangement they request.
The nature of the job and the legitimate requirements of the organisation will continue to matter.
But the reforms potentially change the emphasis from “does the employer have one of the permitted reasons for saying no?” towards the additional question of “was saying no actually reasonable in these circumstances?”
That could make the quality of consultation and the employer’s explanation considerably more important.
Flexible working could help carers remain in employment
The announcement is particularly relevant to Britain’s growing population of working carers.
The Workers Union reported this week that an estimated 1,500 UK workers a day are leaving employment to care for loved ones.
That article highlighted research showing the importance of employment to carers’ wellbeing and the difficulty many people experience trying to reconcile continuing employment with substantial caring responsibilities.
Flexible working cannot solve every problem faced by working carers, but arrangements such as altered start and finish times, reduced or compressed hours and hybrid working could allow some people to remain economically active when they might otherwise feel compelled to leave their jobs.
The Government specifically identifies parents, carers and disabled people among those who can benefit from greater workplace flexibility.
This also connects with wider efforts to help people with disabilities and long-term health conditions remain in employment, an issue examined by The Workers Union in our report on the £3.5 billion employment support programme for disabled workers and people with long-term health conditions.
Flexible does not necessarily mean working from home
An important distinction for workers and employers is that flexible working is much broader than remote working.
Some jobs simply cannot be performed from home.
Healthcare professionals, construction workers, retail employees, drivers, factory workers and hospitality staff may need to be physically present to perform their roles.
But that does not necessarily mean flexibility is impossible.
Changes to shifts, hours, working days or job-sharing arrangements can potentially provide flexibility without changing where the work is carried out.
The Workers Union has previously explored alternatives such as the nine-day fortnight and compressed working patterns, which demonstrate how working time can sometimes be reorganised without necessarily reducing total contracted hours.
Why is the Government changing the law?
The Government says flexible working can improve employees’ ability to balance their professional and personal circumstances while helping employers with recruitment, motivation and productivity.
However, evidence gathered during the consultation suggested that flexible-working requests are still being handled inconsistently across organisations.
The Government says some requests that could reasonably have been accommodated are being refused. More than 1,000 responses were received during its consultation from individuals, employers, legal organisations, academics, unions and other representative bodies.
Its stated objective is therefore to encourage employers and workers to explore what arrangements are possible rather than beginning with reasons why flexibility cannot work.
When will the new flexible-working rules begin?
Workers should be aware that the new reasonableness test is not yet in force.
The Government’s latest Employment Rights Act implementation timetable places the flexible-working reforms among measures due to take effect during 2027.
Further secondary legislation and guidance will be required before implementation.
Until the new provisions commence, workers should continue to follow the existing statutory flexible-working process.
Government timetable for Employment Rights Act changes
The Workers Union view
The Workers Union has long supported the principle that workplace flexibility should be available wherever it can reasonably be accommodated.
Our coverage of the issue stretches back to calls for flexible working to become a right rather than a privilege and subsequently to the introduction of the day-one right to make a flexible-working request.
The forthcoming reforms represent another significant step.
Flexible working should not mean that every request must automatically be approved regardless of operational circumstances. Employers have businesses and services to run, and some arrangements genuinely will not be practical.
But neither should a request that could reasonably work be dismissed without meaningful consideration.
For a parent balancing childcare, a worker caring for an elderly relative, somebody managing a disability or long-term health condition, or simply an employee seeking a more sustainable relationship between their working and personal life, reasonable flexibility can make the difference between remaining in employment and leaving it altogether.
The new system should encourage employers and workers to have that conversation properly.
With implementation expected in 2027, both workers and employers now have an opportunity to understand the reforms and prepare for what could become one of the most widely relevant changes to everyday working arrangements introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Related Workers Union information: Flexible Working & Work-Life Balance guide | Day-one flexible-working rights explained | 1,500 workers a day leaving employment to provide unpaid care | Nine-day fortnight and flexible working
External resources: Government flexible-working consultation outcome | Government detailed flexible-working proposals | Employment Rights Act implementation timetable
