In Great Britain, every employee has the legal right to make a flexible working request from their first day in a job, asking to change their hours, start and finish times, working days or where they work. The employer must handle it in a reasonable manner and decide within 2 months, and can only refuse for one of 8 business reasons.
It's a right to ask, not a right to get. But the process has rules on both sides, and missing them is where employers end up at tribunal. Northern Ireland has different rules.
What employees can ask for
| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| Part time | Fewer than full-time hours, usually fewer days |
| Compressed hours | Full-time hours over fewer days, for example a 9-day fortnight |
| Flexitime | Choosing start and finish times around agreed core hours |
| Remote or hybrid working | Working from home or elsewhere, all or some of the time |
| Job sharing | Two people splitting one job |
| Annualised hours | A set number of hours a year with flexibility on when |
| Staggered hours | Different start, finish and break times from colleagues |
| Phased retirement | Cutting hours ahead of retiring |
What the request must include
- The date of the request
- A statement that it's a statutory request for flexible working
- Details of how you want to work flexibly and when you want it to start
- Whether and when you've made a previous application, with the date
Employees can make 2 applications in any 12-month period. Acas has a request template, and employers may ask staff to use a standard form.
What employers must do
Handle it reasonably. GOV.UK gives examples: assess the advantages and disadvantages, discuss alternatives, and offer an appeal. You must discuss the request with the employee before refusing it, and make a decision within 2 months, or longer if the employee agrees.
If you agree, write to the employee with the agreed changes and a start date, and change their contract as soon as possible, no later than 28 days after approving it. Acas has an outcome template for this.
The 8 reasons you can refuse
- Extra costs that will damage the business
- The work can't be reorganised among other staff
- People can't be recruited to do the work
- It will affect quality
- It will affect performance
- The business won't be able to meet customer demand
- There's a lack of work during the proposed times
- The business is planning changes to the workforce
Here's the insight that makes this easier for small employers: you don't need to say yes to everything, but you do need to show your working. A refusal that names one of the 8 reasons, after a real conversation about alternatives, is defensible. A refusal with no discussion isn't, however good the reason.
How to make a request that gets a yes
The law sets the minimum content, but the requests that succeed answer the employer's questions before they're asked. Based on the refusal reasons above, cover these:
- What you're asking for, in specific days and hours, and from when
- How your work will still get done, and who covers anything you won't be there for
- How customers or colleagues will reach you
- A trial period you'd be happy to start with
Withdrawn requests and appeals
An employer can treat a request as withdrawn if the employee misses 2 meetings about it, or about an appeal, without good reason, but must tell them. Employees no longer have a statutory right to appeal, so they should check whether their employer offers one, and GOV.UK lists offering an appeal as an example of handling a request reasonably.
Tribunal claims and the new time limit
An employee can't go to tribunal just because their request was refused. They can if the employer didn't handle it reasonably, wrongly treated it as withdrawn, treated them badly because of the request, for example refusing a promotion or pay rise, or refused it based on incorrect facts.
The time limit has changed. GOV.UK now says an employee should usually complain within 6 months of the decision, of hearing the request was treated as withdrawn, or of the date the employer should have responded. If the problem happened before 1 October 2026, the old 3-month limit may still apply. So an employer's exposure on a badly handled request now lasts twice as long.
What's coming next
Acas published its current Code of Practice on flexible working requests on 6 April 2024. It says it'll update the Code to reflect law changes expected in 2027, and it's consulting on a draft. So if you write a policy now, plan to review it once the new Code is final.
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For help writing a policy or handling your first request, see UK HR support for small businesses, or keep requests and decisions in one place with free HR software.
My verdict
If you employ people, assume any of them can ask from day one, and build a simple routine: acknowledge, meet, consider alternatives, decide within 2 months, put it in writing. If you're the employee, make the request formal, name it as a statutory request, and suggest how the work would still get done. The 6-month tribunal window means getting the process right matters more than it did a month ago.
Frequently asked questions
Can I request flexible working from day one?
Yes. In Great Britain, employees can make a statutory flexible working request from their first day in a job.
How long does an employer have to respond to a flexible working request?
They must make a decision within 2 months of the request, or longer if the employee agrees.
How many flexible working requests can I make?
Up to 2 applications in any 12-month period.
Can an employer refuse a flexible working request?
Yes, for one of 8 business reasons, but only after discussing the request with the employee and handling it in a reasonable manner.
Does the flexible working right apply in Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland has different flexible working rules, so check the Northern Ireland guidance rather than the GB rules on this page.
What is the time limit for a flexible working tribunal claim?
Usually 6 months, or 3 months if the problem happened before 1 October 2026.
Is there a right to appeal a flexible working decision?
Not a statutory right any more. Check whether your employer offers an appeal; GOV.UK lists offering one as an example of handling requests reasonably.
