Changes to flexible working: What employers should know
Eden Scott is a team of recruitment professionals. While the information provided here is accurate to the best of our knowledge, it is intended for general guidance only. To ensure compliance with current and upcoming legislation, employers can consult with an HR or employment law specialist.
New flexible working laws are now in effect in the UK, with more to follow in 2025. In this article, we’ll recap the flexible working legislation that came into effect in 2024, and provide a quick look at what to expect in 2025.
As an employer, here’s what you need to know about flexible working.
What are the new flexible working laws and when do they come into effect?
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 came into effect on 6 April 2024. It gave workers enhanced rights in relation to requests for flexible working patterns.
In 2025, further updates to UK* employment law regarding flexible working will come into force as part of the Employment Rights Act.
*Excluding Northern Ireland, where employment law is devolved
What changes have already been made?
Here’s a recap of the new laws already in effect.
Day-one right to request flexible working
Employees now have the legal right to ask their employer to accommodate flexible working arrangements from day one of their employment. Previously, employers didn’t need to consider a request for flexible working before the employee had worked at the company for 26 weeks of continuous service (Personnel Today).
Two requests per year
Employees can now make two flexible working requests per year (12-month period). Previously, employers only had to consider one request per year. The law aims to give employees more opportunities to adjust their working conditions to their needs (Harper James).
Consultation requirement
Employers are now required to consult with employees before they deny a request for flexible working. Although the law doesn’t outline a specific process for consultation, employers need to show how they engaged in discussions about the request (ACAS).
Although employers are still able to refuse flexible working requests under UK employment law, they now need to provide a legitimate reason for not accommodating the request. These reasons include:
- The burden of additional costs
When accommodating the flexible working request would incur extra costs (e.g. hiring additional employees).
- Inability to reorganise work among existing staff
When accommodating the flexible working request would be difficult (e.g. when other staff don’t have the availability or suitable skill).
- Inability to recruit additional staff
When recruiting would be impractical (e.g. hiring someone for a very limited amount of time per day to accommodate the flexible working request).
- Detrimental impact on quality
When the quality of your service or product would decline as a result of accommodating the flexible working request (e.g. A quality assurance manager only working two days a week).
- Detrimental impact on performance
When the employee’s ability to perform the role would decline as a result of accommodating the flexible working request (e.g. A work from home request for a factory worker would be impractical).
- Insufficient work for the proposed working periods
When the employee’s proposed working pattern doesn’t align with work requirements (e.g. A shop assistant asking to work at 6pm - 10pm when a shop closes at 8pm).
- Planned structural changes
When a company is going through redundancies or restructures.
What changes are still to come?
The Employment Rights Act will expand employment rights including enhanced flexible working from 2025 (UK Parliament). Changes include:
Normalising flexible working
Flexible working will become an ordinary aspect of employment for most roles. The new act introduces more rights surrounding remote working, part-time working patterns and flexible working hours.
Read more: Changes to flexible working
Parental Leave and sick pay
The new legislation allows for parental leave and statutory sick pay from the first day of employment, which will support employees’ requirements alongside flexible working.
Read more: Shared parental leave and pay
Fair work agency
A new body is likely to oversee the enforcement of UK employment law in regard to workplace rights, making sure that flexible working arrangements are upheld.
Hiring with flexible working in mind
When hiring, employers and HR teams should carefully consider which flexible working arrangements may be appropriate at their organisation.
Claire McCartney at CIPD advises updating recruitment processes to make sure flexible working requirements are discussed early on (People Management).
When vetting prospective candidates, good recruitment companies like Eden Scott discuss factors like remote working options and working patterns with both clients and candidates. This allows us to be more transparent and targeted in our approach.
Learn more: Hiring with Eden Scott
Further reading
1 GUIDE: Unfair dismissal - How to protect your business
2 Employment Rights Act: How HR teams should prepare
3 Unfair dismissal changes: How employers should prepare
4 Carer’s Leave Act: How to calculate carer’s leave
