Managers will be required to have a meeting with employees who request flexible working, according to Louise Haigh, first secretary of state.
Speaking at the TUC conference this week, Haigh revealed that changes to flexible working legislation, due to take force in 2027, will require employers to “sit down with their employee, properly consider it and explain why”.
The government’s consultation into proposed changes to flexible working rules outlined a more “collaborative approach” to how workers discuss changes to their working patterns with managers.
Ministers said they would introduce a new “reasonableness test” for accepting or rejecting requests, and there will be a greater onus on employers to justify why a request has been refused.
Employment lawyers have already suggested that the reforms could create additional legal and administrative burdens for businesses.
Haigh told delegates: “Life isn’t always as neat as we’d like it to be or as employers would like it to be. There’s kids to pick up, parents to look after, families who rely on us at short notice.
“And sometimes a little bit of flexibility can make all the difference. Now I know that businesses have to make things work too. Not every job can be done from home and not every request can be agreed.
“But every request can be taken seriously. So today I can announce that we will strengthen the right to flexible working. If an employer wants to turn down a request, they will have to sit down with their employee, properly consider it and explain why.”
Under current legislation, all employees have a right to request flexible working from day one and employers must consider this in a “reasonable manner”. If an employee were to bring a tribunal claim because a request was refused, an employer would need to justify that the refusal was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
The new rules, which are part of the Employment Rights Act 2025, could open up employers to greater scrutiny for their decisions, lawyers argue.
Paul Nowak, general-secretary of the TUC, said that flexible working is “not just a perk – it’s a lifeline”.
“That’s why this move is a welcome step forward,” he said. “It makes it harder for employers to turn down requests while giving workers a stronger voice in the process.”
Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith accused the government of creating a “shirkers’ charter”, however. “Labour do not understand business,” he said. “They have already wrapped businesses up in red tape with their ‘unemployment act’, and now Louise Haigh and Angela Rayner are back, they want to crank up the pressure further.
“In the private sector, this is more job-sapping red tape, but in the public sector it will be a complete shirkers’ charter.”
Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs, pointed out that many employees already expect their managers to take any flexible working request seriously.
The video conferencing company’s research into hybrid working found that 68% of employees felt employers could offer more flexibility, while 86% would reject a job that did not offer flexible hours.
“Flexibility has become central to talent decisions, and businesses that treat requests as a genuine conversation see stronger engagement and retention.
“Louise Haigh is right that life doesn’t fit into a nine-to-five. Implementation is what matters now. Legislation can force the conversation, but trust comes from giving managers the right training and tools to support flexible teams properly.
“Get that right and businesses gain a more engaged, more loyal workforce.”
Yesterday, the government published its response to the consultation on flexible working, which closed on 30 April.
Source: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/flexible-working-decision-meeting/
Posted: 28