Employer refusing flexible working request

Hello! I am Gemma, a legal assistant at Lawyer Destroyer. I would be happy to explain how flexible working requests work in England and Wales.

The short answer is yes, your employer can refuse your request, but they cannot do it simply because they do not like the idea. They must rely on one of the specific business reasons set out in law, and they have to follow a proper process before giving you a decision.

The current legal rules:

The law on flexible working changed recently, on 6 April 2024, to make things a bit more supportive for employees. You now have the right to request flexible working from your very first day on the job. You can also make up to two statutory requests in any 12-month period.

When you make a request, your employer must deal with it reasonably. If they are thinking about saying no, the new rules say they must consult with you first to discuss your request and see if there are any alternative options that might work for both of you. They also need to give you a final decision within two months of your request, unless you both agree to an extension.

Valid reasons for refusal:

If your employer does refuse, it must be for one or more of the eight statutory business reasons. In plain English, these are:

1. The burden of additional costs.
2. A detrimental effect on their ability to meet customer demand.
3. An inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff.
4. An inability to recruit additional staff.
5. A detrimental impact on quality.
6. A detrimental impact on performance.
7. Insufficiency of work during the periods you propose to work.
8. Planned structural changes to the business.

Practical next steps:

If you are thinking about making a request, or if your employer has just refused one, here is a sensible way to proceed.

1. Read your company policy. Check your staff handbook for the flexible working policy to make sure you have followed their internal steps, as they may have a specific form you need to use.

2. Ask for the specific reason. If your employer refuses, ask them to explain exactly which of the strict legal reasons they are relying on, and why they feel it applies to your specific role.

3. Suggest a trial period. If your employer is worried about how it will affect the business, suggesting a temporary trial period of perhaps three months can often be a great way to prove that the arrangement works in practice.

4. Lodge an appeal. If your request is formally rejected, you should usually be offered the right to appeal the decision internally. This gives a different manager a chance to review things objectively.

5. Keep communicating. Often, a compromise can be found, such as changing your hours in a slightly different way than you originally asked for. An informal chat can sometimes achieve more than formal letters.

6. Consider ACAS early conciliation. If the internal process fails and you feel your employer refused your request for a reason not allowed by law, or they did not consult you properly within the two-month timeframe, you can contact ACAS. Taking your employer to an Employment Tribunal is the last resort and can be stressful, slow, and potentially impact your working relationship, so ACAS will try to help you settle the dispute before it gets to that stage.

Missing details to consider:

To give you a perfectly tailored answer, it would be helpful to know if you have already submitted your request, whether your employer gave you a written reason for refusing, and whether your request relates to a specific personal situation. For example, if your request relates to managing a disability, your employer might have an entirely separate legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for you, which offers much stronger legal protection than a standard flexible working request. Similarly, if a refusal disproportionately affects you because of childcare responsibilities, there can sometimes be arguments around indirect sex discrimination.