As has been much discussed recently in the mainstream press, starting from today (30th June 2014) every employee in the UK, provided they have worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks, has the right to request ‘flexible working’. We look at what this means and what the employee and employer must do to comply with this new legislation.
There are many types of ‘flexible working’. These are:
Although the new legislation does not give employees the default right to get any flexible working requested, it does give employees the right to make a request, and the legislation requires the employer to deal with that request in a particular way. This is designed to make it easier for employees to move to flexible working if they need to, without placing an unviable burden on the employer.
The employee:
The employer:
If the employer agrees, the outcome of the request should take the form of a letter from the employer to the employee setting out a statement of the agreed changes and a start date for the flexible working. The employer must also update the employee’s contract of employment to reflect the changes within 28 days of the request being approved.
Both ACAS and GOV.UK provide detailed guidance for both employers and employees on the new flexible working rights, here:
ACAS – The Right to Request Flexible Working
We also provide a number of different employment contracts, instantly downloadable for just £5.99, which can be easily amended to suit a flexible working arrangement:
Contract of Employment Template
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