Flexible working policy

Every employee can now ask for flexible working from the first day, twice a year, and the employer has to deal with each request in a reasonable manner, consult before refusing, decide within two months and refuse only on one of the statutory grounds. The policy has to set out the right and the process, the grounds and the evidence the employer will need to rely on them, the trial periods that often resolve a request, the contract change that follows an agreement, and the informal flexibility and hybrid arrangements that sit alongside. I draft the policy for the employer as part of the handbook and core policies for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Employers in England and Wales who receive flexible working requests, who are bringing staff back to the office, or whose policy predates the right becoming a day-one entitlement.

What matters in a flexible working policy

The statutory right from the first day

Under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as amended, an employee may request a change to their hours, times or place of work from the first day of employment, may make two requests in any twelve months, need not explain the effect on the employer, and is protected from detriment and dismissal for making a request; the policy should state the right as it now stands, replacing any reference to a qualifying period or to one request a year, and should apply to all employees, with the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes to the test for refusal reflected on the timetable the regulations set.

What a request can ask for and how it is made

A request can ask for a change to hours (part-time, compressed hours, term-time working), times (start and finish, annualised hours) or place of work (home, hybrid, another site), permanent or for a period, and must be in writing, dated, state that it is a statutory request, describe the change and when it should take effect, and say whether a previous request has been made; the policy should provide a form, say where requests go, and treat a request that does not meet the formalities as a request the employer will help put right rather than one it may ignore.

The employer's duties on receiving a request

The employer must deal with the request in a reasonable manner, which under the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working means acknowledging it, meeting the employee where the request cannot be agreed as made, allowing a companion, considering the request properly, consulting the employee before refusing (including discussing alternatives), and giving a written decision within two months of the request including any appeal, unless the employee agrees an extension; the policy should set the timetable, the decision-maker, the meeting and the appeal, and should record each stage, because a refusal without consultation is a breach that gives the employee a claim regardless of the merits.

The grounds for refusal and the evidence behind them

A request may be refused only on one or more of the grounds in section 80G of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (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 or on performance, insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work, planned structural changes), and the policy should require the decision-maker to identify the ground, set out the facts relied on and keep the evidence, because a refusal on a ground the facts do not support can be challenged and a refusal that disadvantages a group (women with childcare responsibilities, disabled employees) can be indirect discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 whatever the ground.

Trial periods, variations and the contract

The policy should provide for trial periods where the employer is unsure, with the terms, the length and the review stated in writing and the right to revert if the trial does not work, and should say that an agreed change is a permanent variation of the contract unless agreed otherwise, recorded in a written statement of changes under section 4 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 within a month, with pay, holiday and benefits adjusted pro rata where hours change; an employer that agrees a request informally and later tries to withdraw it has agreed a contract change it cannot undo without consent.

Informal flexibility, hybrid working and the policy alongside

The policy should say how informal flexibility (occasional changes, ad hoc homeworking) is handled without a statutory request, how it relates to the hybrid working policy and the homeworking policy, how requests from employees returning from family leave or with caring responsibilities under the Carer's Leave Act 2023 are considered, and how the employer handles a wave of requests when it changes its office attendance expectations, because a return-to-office instruction produces statutory requests and the policy should be ready for them; the policy should also connect to the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees under the Equality Act 2010, which is a separate and stronger right.

What it costs

Staff handbook and core policies, £995. Five working days.

Employment contract, £595. One template you can reuse for a grade of staff. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the employment contracts and handbooks page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A bespoke contract drafted for how you employ people
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Confidentiality and intellectual property provisions that put ownership where it belongs
• The statutory particulars, so the document does the job section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires it to do
• Flexibility clauses where you genuinely need them, drafted to survive challenge
• Core policies: disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence, equal opportunities, data protection and, increasingly, AI use
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Acting for employees
• Employment tribunal representation
• Payroll, pensions auto-enrolment and tax
• Immigration and sponsor licence work
• Day to day HR handling, disciplinaries, grievances and redundancy processes

Questions I am often asked

Can we refuse a flexible working request?

Only on one of the statutory grounds, after consulting the employee, within two months, with the facts recorded. The policy sets the process; the merits have to be real and the evidence kept.

Does an employee need six months' service to ask?

Not any more. The right applies from the first day, with two requests in any twelve months. A policy that still says six months is out of date.

If we agree a trial period, are we bound?

Only on the trial's terms, if they are written down with a right to revert. An informal agreement with no end date is a permanent contract change.

Related guidance and services

• Employment contracts and handbooks, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Employment contract for a hybrid worker

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: October 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.