• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Bedfordshire
  • Milton Keynes
  • Northamptonshire
  • Awards
  • Knowledge Hub
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • Sustainability
    • The Podcast
    • ATB TV
All Things Business

All Things Business

First For Local UK Business News

  • Education
  • Professional Services
    • Legal
    • Finance
    • Recruitment & HR
    • Creative Marketing
  • Property
  • Environment
    • Wellbeing
  • Industry
    • Industry
    • Manufacturing
    • Motors
    • Logistics
    • Technology
  • Events
    • Events
    • Food & Drink
    • Sport
  • News

Prepare for an influx of flexible working requests

Legal, News | April 30, 2021

Prepare for an influx of flexible working requests

As the latest lockdown comes to an end, employees who have grown used to working from home may have mixed feelings about returning to the workplace, especially if it means a long commute to and from the office. With this in mind, businesses have already received an influx of flexible working requests, which will have to be handled appropriately in accordance with the legal requirements.  

Only employees with at least 26 weeks of continuous employment can put forward flexible working requests, meaning consultants and contractors would not be eligible. Therefore, employers must carefully consider requests, taking the time to understand the individual reasons and what impact it would have on productivity. 

During these meetings, employees should be allowed to have another colleague accompanying them and should have the details of an appeals process explained to them, so they know what to do if they are unhappy with the outcome. 

What to expect and important considerations

The request must be in writing and an employee can only make one in any 12-month period. Typically the individual will be seeking one of the following: 

  • Change their place of work – e.g. work from home for some or all of their hours
  • Squeeze their total working hours into fewer days
  • Reduce their full-time role to part-time
  • Flexible working day start and end times

Once a request has been received, it is up to the employer to deliver an answer within three months, including any time needed to submit an appeal. This time can be extended by mutual agreement, which may be beneficial for both parties in certain situations.

After the meeting, it is important to weigh up the pros and cons of accepting the request, leaving no stone unturned in terms of what impact long-term flexible working would have on colleagues. 

Most flexible working requests come from individuals that are looking for a better work-life balance. It is no surprise that colleagues granted this are generally happier and more productive, so it could be an option worth considering for employers, if disruption is avoided. 

However, also consider any negative aspects particularly if the employee is a team leader and their input is needed to oversee operations. 

Reasons to refuse a request

Having carefully considered the request, you can only refuse a request for flexible working for one or more of the reasons set out in the legislation:

  • Additional costs will impact the business
  • It will make it hard to meet customer demand
  • The inability to reorganise work among colleagues
  • The inability to recruit new staff
  • The change will reduce service quality
  • The change will reduce performance
  • Lower demand when the employee wants to work
  • Planned changes to the workforce

When assessing requests for flexible working, you must also be mindful of whether any of the employees are protected under the Equality Act, before deciding whether to accept or refuse their requests. 

For example, working from home may be a reasonable adjustment for a disabled employee. However, refusing a request from a male employee may be classed as direct sex discrimination, if the individual was asking for flexible working to accommodate childcare responsibilities, which would have been granted to a female employee. 

There is also the risk of indirect religion or belief discrimination, where the employee is asking for flexible working times to accommodate religious requirements. 

Working through lockdown might be a problem

In the post-lockdown working world, many employees will be keen to implement a long-term culture of remote working, encouraged by the lack of impact on business productivity from their enforced remote working throughout lockdown. 

Therefore, employers may find it difficult to demonstrate that there will be a detrimental impact on the quality of performance of work, when the business continued to operate effectively during the lockdown. 

That being said, splitting teams up long term may not be a viable option for businesses, especially if some workers have expressed an interest to return to the workplace, which could create issues in terms of utilising work space.  

Before agreeing to any requests, it is important to consider the impact of having some workers at home and some in the workplace, as this could create a disconnect between colleagues and impact the productivity of the entire group. 

If you accept a request, then the employee’s new work pattern becomes a variation to their employment contract and requires you to issue a ‘section 4 statement’ detailing the changes, within one month of the changes coming into effect.

As the workforce leaves lockdown with a very different approach to life and work than when it went in, employers must prepare for the inevitable requests for flexible working. 

If you have any questions about the issue, speak to Alec Colson, Head of Employment Law at Taylor Walton on 01582 390470 or email alec.colson@taylorwalton.co.uk

Alec Coulson, Head of Employment Law at Taylor Walton
Alec Coulson, Head of Employment Law at Taylor Walton

Bedfordshire

Related stories

  • Wyboston Lakes Resort Bedfordshire
    May 10, 2022

    Wyboston Lakes Resort shortlisted for two prestigious prizes at this year’s Conference & Events Awards

    The award-winning Woodlands Event Centre at conference, training and leisure venue Wyboston Lakes Resort has again been recognised not only as one…
  • Bedford Blues Bedfordshire
    May 4, 2022

    Merger strengthens club’s community offering

    Following the significant growth and development of both the charitable arm of the club, Blues Foundation, and the Blues Community, Bedford Blues…
  • Crème Brew Lait Bedfordshire
    May 4, 2022

    Anniversary is the icing on the cake

    Celebrating her business’s fifth birthday this month, Julia Brightman from Crème Brew Lait is enjoying picking up the pace again after she…

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Stay up to date on All Things Business

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive the latest business news.

Online Edition

Northamptonshire edition, click here
Milton Keynes edition, click here
Bedfordshire edition, click here

Most Read

  • MK Gateway Taking centre stage at real estate forum
  • Howes Percival A trio of new partners in East Mids among five senior promotions
  • Northampton High New Head for Junior School at Northampton High School
  • Hospital invests in campaign to attract healthcare talent Hospital invests in campaign to attract healthcare talent
  • Wyboston Lakes Resort Wyboston Lakes Resort shortlisted for two prestigious prizes at this year’s Conference & Events Awards

Footer

REGIONS

Northamptonshire
Milton Keynes
Bedfordshire
 

COMPANY

About Us
Contact
Awards
Podcast
Knowledge Hub
Sustainability
Request A Copy

Northamptonshire Office

1 Queensbridge, Northampton
NN4 7BF
Tel: 01604 267677

Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire Office

The Pinnacle, 170 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes,
MK9 1BP
Tel: 01908 030688

London Office

25 Bedford Square
London
WC1B 3HH
Tel: 0208 1760176

Follow us on

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

All Things Business is a publication produced by All Things Management Ltd. Registered in England No. 9590677


Privacy Policy