Employment Law Flexible Working – What Employers Need To Know About Current Rules and Changes in 2027
Flexible working is one of the most common topics on which we receive requests for HR advice. Flexible working requests have specific rules for how employers manage them. Some enquiries we receive involve employees returning from maternity leave, while others concern working parents balancing employment with family responsibilities.
With recent publicity around changes to flexible working legislation, we thought it would be useful to review the current rules, employers’ responsibilities, and the further changes expected in 2027.
What is flexible working?
Flexible working can take many forms, including:
- Job-sharing
- Part-time working
- Compressed hours
- Flexitime
- Term-time working
- Voluntary reduced working hours
- Working from home or hybrid working
- Career breaks
These arrangements can benefit both employees and employers, although not every form of flexible working will be suitable for every role or workplace.
Do employees have a right to flexible working?
Despite popular opinion, employees do not have an automatic right to work flexibly. Instead, legislation gives employees the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment.
Employers are legally required to consider statutory requests in a reasonable manner. If an employer agrees to a flexible working request in full, it does not need to hold a consultation meeting. However, before refusing a request, the employer must consult with the employee. This discussion should explore any difficulties that might arise from the proposed arrangement, whether these could be overcome and whether suitable alternatives are available.
When can an employer refuse flexible working requests?
An employer can only refuse statutory flexible working requests on one or more of eight recognised business grounds:
- The burden of additional costs
- A detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand
- An inability to reorganise work among existing staff
- An inability to recruit additional staff
- A detrimental impact on quality
- A detrimental impact on performance
- Insufficient work during the periods the employee proposes to work
- Planned structural changes
Employers should consider each request carefully rather than automatically assuming a particular working arrangement is impractical.
How long does an employer have to respond?
The entire statutory process, including any appeal, must normally be completed within two months of receiving the request. This period can be extended by agreement between the employer and employee. Although there is no statutory right to appeal a refusal, offering an appeal is recommended good practice.
Employees can make up to two statutory flexible working requests within a 12-month period, although only one request can remain active at a time. The statutory right applies to employees, including part-time and fixed-term employees, but does not generally extend to self-employed contractors, consultants or agency workers.
What changes are expected in 2027?
The government has confirmed plans to strengthen the requirements for employers considering flexible working requests. The changes, expected to take effect in autumn 2027, will introduce a new reasonableness test for refusing requests, along with additional consultation requirements. Employers will still be able to refuse requests on the existing eight statutory business grounds. However, they will also need to explain why refusing the particular request is reasonable, supported by the circumstances of the case.
These reforms will not create an automatic right to work flexibly or require employers to approve every request. The government recognises that flexibility is not practicable in every role or workplace. Nevertheless, employers will need to show that they have properly considered requests, rather than relying on blanket assumptions or unsupported refusals.
The reforms recognise the potential benefits of flexible working for both sides of the employment relationship. For employees, flexibility can improve wellbeing, support caring responsibilities and help disabled people remain in employment. It can also help more people enter, remain in, and progress through the labour market. For employers, flexible working can widen recruitment opportunities, improve employee retention and support workforce participation.
Flexible working and discrimination: what employers should consider
When considering flexible working requests, employers must also be aware of the potential for discrimination claims.
Indirect discrimination can arise where an employer applies a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) to employees that places people sharing a protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage, and also disadvantages an individual with that characteristic. For example, a requirement to work particular hours could disproportionately disadvantage employees with certain caring responsibilities. Such discrimination may be unlawful unless the employer can demonstrate that the requirement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
Employers should therefore consider not only the operational implications of flexible working requests but also whether a refusal could create wider legal risks.
Preparing for the changes ahead
With further changes expected in 2027, employers should ensure their policies and procedures are up to date. Having a clear process for assessing flexible working requests, consulting employees and recording decisions will help employers demonstrate that requests have been considered fairly and consistently.
We will continue to keep you informed as further details of the forthcoming changes become available.
If you need advice on handling flexible working requests or reviewing your organisation’s policies, contact Spotlight HR for practical, professional guidance.