Flexible working requests: Where are we now?

Flexible working has shifted from a workplace perk to an expected norm and flexibility is increasingly used as a tool to support recruitment, improve retention and promote employee wellbeing.

Recent research into post-pandemic workplace patterns shows that flexible working has now become a core part of many businesses organisational strategy with hybrid arrangements now embedded in many sectors.

Young workers continue to express a preference for hybrid working over a fully remote model. They value flexibility but also recognise the benefits of being physically present in the workplace.

What are an employer’s obligations?

It is an area of employment law that has already seen significant change recently, but the Employment Rights Act 2025 has brought further reform.

In April 2024 an employee’s right to request flexible working became a right from day one of employment removing the previous 26-week qualifying period. This significantly expanded the number of employees eligible to make requests.

Employees were also able to make two requests within any 12‑month period.

Employers must respond within two months, unless an extension is agreed.

The requirement on employees to explain how their request may affect the business was also removed.

These changes were intended to simplify the process to encourage more people to seek alternative working arrangements.

The Employment Rights Act 2025

The Act introduces several changes to the statutory regime designed to strengthen employee rights and clarify employer duties in handling such requests. It aligns the statutory regime more closely with best practice guidance from Acas, emphasising transparency, consultation, and reasoned decision-making.

The reform makes two key changes: –

1. An employer will only be able to refuse a flexible working request where is it reasonable to so, and the refusal must be still based on one or more of the existing eight statutory grounds. These are:

• the burden of additional costs,
• detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand,
• inability to re-organise work among existing staff,
• inability to recruit additional staff,
• detrimental impact on quality or performance,
• insufficiency of work during proposed periods,
• planned structural changes,
• or any other grounds specified by the Secretary of State in regulations.

While the grounds for refusal remain unchanged, an employer will now be required to do more than simply reference them. They must explain why it is reasonable to refuse the request on the ground(s) relied upon. This is a step beyond simply citing a permitted reason, requiring an actual explanation of applicability and codifies the requirement for reasonableness in the decision to refuse.

2. Secondly, if an employer intends to reject a request, they will need to consult with the employee before making a final decision, continuing the approach that already applies under the current framework but with greater scrutiny on whether the consultation was meaningful.

The Act gives the Secretary of State power to specify steps that employers must take to comply with the duty to consult employees before rejecting a request. The power to make regulations specifying the steps employers must take before rejecting a flexible working request came into force on 6 January 2026, but the main substantive provisions are expected to come into force in 2027.

Currently the government’s is conducting a consultation Make Work Pay: Improving Access to Flexible Working. The consultation seeks views on what action an employer will be required to take before rejecting a flexible working request and what the consultation process with an employee should involve in practice.

This consultation which closes on 30 April 2026 is expected to shape the secondary legislation that will set out the required steps in detail. This could for example include a requirement to set out refusal grounds in writing, aligning the legal requirements more closely with the Acas Code of Practice.

The government is also seeking input on how employers should assess:

• Whether a statutory refusal ground genuinely applies.
• Whether it is reasonable to refuse the request on that basis.

The feedback gathered will inform how the new framework is implemented when these changes come into force next year, ensuring that the legislation is workable in practice and consistent across sectors.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 also amends Section 80H(1)(a) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 so that complaints to employment tribunals can be made where the employer fails to “act in accordance with” (rather than merely “comply with”) their obligations regarding flexible working requests. This broadens the grounds for complaint, making it easier for employees to challenge procedural failures by employers in handling flexible working requests.

In summary, the Employment Rights Act 2025 tightens employer requirements when refusing flexible working requests, strengthens employee protections, and introduces new procedural requirements, with further details to be specified by regulations.

Employers will need to ensure their decision-making processes are robust and transparent, and that reasons for refusal are properly documented and explained to the employee.

Employers should ensure they are ready to conduct meaningful consultations and keep records of these discussions.

Employers should prepare by reviewing and updating their policies and procedures for handling flexible working requests. Managers also need to be fully trained and prepared for more robust consultation duties and updating template refusal letters to meet the new legal tests.