Dan Wilde, Head of Employment at Harding Evans Solicitors, explores how employers can find an approach that works for their business and their people.
Flexible working can help employees manage caring responsibilities, reduce commuting time and achieve a better work-life balance. For employers, it can support recruitment, retention and staff wellbeing.
Making it work, however, requires careful thought. Businesses must continue to serve customers, support colleagues and maintain standards. In smaller teams, changing one person’s working pattern can have a significant impact on others.
Recent reports of government plans to strengthen the handling of flexible working requests have renewed discussion about how best to strike this balance. The reported proposals place greater emphasis on considering requests thoroughly and providing fuller explanations when refusing them. Employers should distinguish these potential changes from their existing statutory duties.
What Do Employers Need to Consider?
Employees in Great Britain can make a statutory flexible working request from their first day of employment. This can cover hours, working patterns or location, but does not automatically entitle them to their preferred arrangement.
Employers can refuse requests on specified business grounds, for example, additional costs, difficulties reorganising work or recruiting staff, and detrimental effects on performance, quality or customer demand.
This recognises that flexibility will look different across businesses. A customer-facing role may require attendance at particular times, while other work may offer greater scope for homeworking.
Start With a Conversation
Employers must consult before refusing a statutory request and handle it reasonably. Under the Acas Code of Practice, the process – including any appeal – must normally conclude within two months, unless an extension is agreed.
A constructive discussion can help identify what the employee needs and where compromise may be possible. An employee seeking homeworking may benefit from adjusted hours, while different homeworking days may resolve concerns about customer cover.
My advice is to approach the discussion openly, while explaining any practical difficulties clearly. If supervision is a concern, which activities require people to be together? If colleagues would absorb additional duties, what would that involve? Specific concerns are easier to explore and address than a general preference for office attendance.
Could an Alternative Work?
Where the original request presents difficulties, consider whether another arrangement could achieve an outcome acceptable to both parties. Adjusted start times, agreed office days or a trial period may help both parties find a workable solution. You might propose a trial to see if the amended arrangements work in practice.
For a trial, record its duration, expectations and review arrangements, including what happens when it ends. This gives both sides clarity and a fair opportunity to assess the results.
A Consistent, Individual Approach
Agreeing one request does not mean every request must have the same outcome. Different responsibilities and staffing needs may justify different arrangements. Employers should apply a consistent process and explain relevant differences.
Additional care is needed where a request involves disability or potential discrimination. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is separate from the flexible working process, and relying on a permitted business ground does not automatically address those wider obligations.
Employers are balancing the needs of individuals, colleagues and customers. Understanding the request, exploring options and explaining the decision can help protect working relationships, even where agreement is not possible.
Harding Evans’ Employment team helps employers manage flexible working requests and develop practical workplace policies. Contact our team for advice tailored to your business.
