What Employers Need to Know About Flexible Working in 2026
It's that time of year again – the leaves are just starting to turn and there's a chill in the air. As the summer holidays draw to a close and the children go back to school, many businesses will start receiving questions from employees about working patterns, school runs, childcare and working from home. For employers, this can raise an important question - what are their obligations when an employee asks for flexible working?
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Understanding flexible working for employers is more important than ever. Employees have had the statutory right to request flexible working from their first day of employment since April 2024, meaning businesses need to be ready to deal with requests from new recruits as well as established members of staff.
However, a statutory right to request flexible working is not the same as an automatic right to work flexibly. Employers can refuse a request where there is a genuine business reason for doing so, but they must follow the correct process and consider each request carefully.
For businesses, the challenge is finding the right balance between supporting employees and maintaining productivity, service levels and operational needs.
Why Does Flexible Working Matter to Employers?
Flexible working is often discussed from the employee's perspective, particularly around childcare and work-life balance. However, it can also offer significant benefits to employers. A well-designed flexible working arrangement can help businesses attract and retain talented employees, particularly where competitors are offering greater flexibility. It can also help employers recruit from a wider pool of candidates and retain experienced employees who might otherwise struggle to balance work with caring responsibilities.
For many employees, September is a natural point to reconsider their working arrangements. Children are returning to school, childcare arrangements may have changed and family routines are being reset. An employee who has managed informally during the summer may now need a more permanent arrangement. That could mean changing their working hours, starting or finishing at different times, working from home on particular days or changing the days on which they work.
For employers, the important thing is to have a consistent process for dealing with these requests.
What Is Flexible Working?
Flexible working is broadly any arrangement that changes when, where or how an employee works. It can take several different forms. An employee might ask to work part-time, change their start and finish times, work remotely or adopt a hybrid working arrangement. Other examples include compressed hours, flexitime and job sharing.
The right arrangement will depend on the employee's role and the needs of the business. What works for an office-based employee may not be practical for someone who works directly with customers, operates machinery or needs to be physically present at a particular location. This is why employers should avoid taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
What Do Employers Need to Know about the Right to Flexible Working?
Employees have a statutory right to request flexible working from their first day of employment. They do not have an automatic right to have their request accepted.
An employee can make up to two statutory flexible working requests during any 12-month period, although only one request can be live at a time. A statutory request must be made in writing and must include specific information, including the change being requested, when the employee wants it to start and details of any previous statutory requests.
This distinction between the right to request and the right to receive flexible working is important for employers. You do not have to agree to every request. However, you cannot simply reject a request because you would prefer employees to work their existing hours or because you do not generally like flexible working.
That being said, there are specific business reasons that can justify refusing a statutory request.
When Can an Employer Refuse Flexible Working?
An employer can refuse a statutory flexible working request where there is a genuine business reason falling within the statutory grounds for refusal.
The statutory grounds are:
- The burden of additional costs.
- Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand.
- Inability to reorganise work among existing staff.
- Inability to recruit additional staff.
- Detrimental impact on quality.
- Detrimental impact on performance.
- Insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work.
- Planned structural changes
The important point is that employers need to consider the actual circumstances of the request. A blanket policy of refusing flexible working is unlikely to provide the careful, individual assessment required.
For example, an employer might initially think that allowing an employee to finish at 3pm every Friday would create a staffing problem. Before rejecting the request, however, it may be appropriate to consider whether the work could be reorganised, whether another working pattern could work or whether a trial arrangement could address the concern.
The ACAS Code specifically encourages employers and employees to discuss alternative options where the original request cannot be accepted in full.
How Should Employers Handle a Flexible Working Request?
Employers must handle statutory flexible working requests in a reasonable manner. This is where having a clear internal policy and a consistent process can make a significant difference. Managers should understand what they need to do when a request arrives and should avoid making assumptions about the employee or their circumstances.
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An employer should consider the practical impact of the proposed arrangement on the employee and the business, look at the potential benefits and challenges, and discuss alternatives where appropriate.
It is also important to remember that flexible working requests can sometimes overlap with other areas of employment law. For example, an employee may be asking for a change because of a disability. In that situation, the employer may also need to consider its obligations regarding reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.
Similarly, employers need to be alert to the risk of discrimination. A request should be assessed on its merits rather than assumptions about an employee's circumstances.
How Long Does an Employer Have to Decide?
There is a statutory time limit for dealing with flexible working requests. Employers must make and communicate their decision, including any appeal, within two months of receiving the request. The employer and employee can agree to extend this period where necessary. That means a request should not simply sit in an inbox waiting for someone to have time to deal with it.
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For businesses expecting a number of flexible working requests around September, it is worth making sure managers and HR teams understand the process before requests start arriving. Having a clear policy, identifying who will handle requests and keeping appropriate records can help prevent unnecessary delays.
What If You Reject a Flexible Working Request?
If you decide that a statutory flexible working request cannot be accommodated, you should communicate the decision clearly and explain the business reason for rejecting it. It is good practice to provide enough information to explain how the decision was reached. This might include relevant operational considerations, staffing levels, recruitment difficulties, customer requirements or other practical factors that affected the decision.
There is no statutory right to appeal a flexible working decision. However, the ACAS Code says employers should offer an employee the opportunity to appeal as part of a reasonable process. Where an appeal takes place, it should be handled fairly and impartially.
Giving employees an opportunity to discuss the decision can also help identify an alternative arrangement that works for both sides.
Flexible Working Does Not Have to Be All or Nothing
One of the most useful things for employers to remember is that a flexible working request does not necessarily have to be accepted or rejected exactly as submitted.
Perhaps an employee has asked to work from home three days a week, but the business can only accommodate two. Perhaps they have requested a particular finish time every day, but a slightly different arrangement would work better for the team. The conversation should not necessarily stop at the original request.
ACAS recommend discussing modifications and alternative options where the original arrangement cannot be agreed. In some circumstances, a trial period may also help the employer and employee assess whether a particular arrangement works in practice.
For employers, this can be a much more constructive approach than treating flexible working as a simple yes-or-no decision.
What About Informal Flexible Working Requests?
Not every conversation about flexible working will need to follow the statutory procedure.
Employees and employers can agree flexible working arrangements informally without using the statutory process. This can be particularly useful where an employee needs a short-term change or where both parties are happy to agree an arrangement without going through the formal statutory procedure.
However, employers should still approach informal arrangements consistently and carefully. If an agreed change alters contractual terms, the change will generally need to be confirmed in writing within one month.
Keeping a written record of agreed arrangements will help avoid confusion later, particularly if the arrangement is intended to be permanent.
Flexible Working and Business Risk
For employers, the biggest risk is not necessarily agreeing to flexible working. It can be failing to deal with requests consistently, making decisions without properly considering the circumstances or allowing managers to make decisions based on assumptions rather than evidence.
An employee who believes their request has not been handled properly may have legal options, and employees are protected from detriment and dismissal because they have made, or intend to make, a statutory flexible working request.
This is why flexible working should be treated as an employment law issue as well as an HR issue.
For larger organisations, consistency across departments can be particularly important. One manager approving a particular arrangement while another automatically rejects a similar request can create questions about fairness and potentially increase legal risk.
Flexible Working for Employers - Getting the Balance Right
For businesses, getting this right can bring benefits well beyond legal compliance. A sensible approach to flexible working can help attract talented people, retain experienced employees and create working arrangements that support both business performance and employee needs.
Back to school time is a good time to consider whether your flexible working policy is up to date and reflects the culture of your business, need advice on a particular request or want support with your wider HR and employment law processes, our employment law team can help.
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