The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which came into force in April 2024, substantially changed the landscape for UK workers seeking flexible or remote working arrangements. Two years on, its effects are becoming clear.
What Changed in 2024
The key changes: employees can now make two flexible working requests per year (previously one). Employers must respond within two months (previously three). Employees no longer need to explain the impact of their request on the business.
Most significantly, the right to request flexible working became a day-one right — previously employees needed 26 weeks' service before they could request it.
What the Law Does NOT Do
The law gives employees the right to request flexible working — not the right to receive it. Employers can still refuse requests on eight specified grounds:
- The burden of additional costs
- A detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand
- An inability to reorganise work among existing staff
- An inability to recruit additional staff
- A detrimental impact on quality
- A detrimental impact on performance
- Insufficiency of work during the period the employee proposes to work
- Planned structural changes
In Practice
The shift in power is real but limited. Most employers now have hybrid working policies that accommodate some remote work without requiring formal requests. The formal request mechanism is more relevant in sectors where employers have resisted flexible working — parts of financial services, law, and public administration.
Tribunal cases for improperly handled flexible working requests have increased by 34% since the changes came into force.
Your Best Approach
Document everything. Put your request in writing, be specific about the arrangement you want, and explain how it will work in practice. Employers are more likely to approve requests with clear operational solutions.
