Flexible working requests are now a day-one right for every UK employee, and the law behind them (often called the flexible working act) is about to change again. This page explains what a flexible working request is, the main types of arrangement, and how the statutory process works in 2026.
What is a flexible working request?
A flexible working request is a proposal from an employee to change their working pattern, such as their hours, working days, or place of work. In the UK, every employee has the legal right to make one from their first day of employment.
A request can be either:
- Statutory: a formal request made under UK employment law. Employees have had the right to make a statutory flexible working request from day one of employment since 6 April 2024.
- Informal: an off-the-record conversation with a line manager that does not follow the statutory process. It is often used for temporary changes or to test whether an arrangement could work.
The difference matters. A statutory request must follow a defined legal process, while an informal request leaves room for a quick conversation and a trial before anything is set in stone.
What are the main types of flexible working arrangement?
Flexible working covers far more than working from home. People request it for childcare or other caring responsibilities, to improve their work-life balance, to phase back in after maternity leave, or simply because a different pattern suits their life better. These are the most common arrangements.
Remote and hybrid working
Working from home full time, or splitting the week between home and the workplace. What to weigh up:
- Equipment: who provides IT, and is it secure?
- Supervision: does the role work with less face-to-face oversight?
- Engagement: will the person stay connected to the team, especially if they work will the person stay connected to the team?
Decide whether the change is permanent or a trial period, and update the employment contract if you agree to it.
Flexible hours and flexitime
Starting and finishing at different times within agreed limits.
- Staggered hours: people start and finish at different times to widen cover or reduce overlap.
- Flexitime: core hours when everyone must be present (for example 10am to 3pm), with flexibility around them.
- Compressed hours: full-time hours worked over fewer days, such as four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days. A nine-day fortnight is a common version.
- Annualised hours: a set number of hours across the year rather than a fixed weekly pattern, useful where demand is seasonal.
All of these need a clear plan for how the work and customer demand get covered across the team.
Part-time working and job share
Sometimes the change is about doing fewer hours, not different ones.
- Part-time working: fewer days, or fewer hours per day.
- Job share: two people splitting the responsibilities of one full-time role.
These often follow maternity leave or support a longer-term change in someone's life. Think through how duties are split, the effect on the team, and any payroll and benefits adjustments.
Real-world example: in a hospitality or retail business, a supervisor might ask to move from five short shifts to three compressed days to manage childcare. The arrangement only works if the rota still covers the busy periods, which is why the schedule, not the contract, is where most flexible working decisions are won or lost.
What does UK law say about flexible working requests?
Since 6 April 2024, every employee in the UK has had a day-one right to request flexible working, under the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 (often referred to simply as the flexible working act) and the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023.
Under the current rules, employees:
- Can make a statutory flexible working request from their first day of employment
- Can make two requests in any 12-month period
- Must have their request handled in a reasonable manner
- Are entitled to be consulted before a request is refused
- Must receive a decision within two months, unless they agree to an extension
A refusal must be based on valid reasoning, and an unreasonable delay or a flawed process can be challenged at an employment tribunal.
The eight business reasons an employer can refuse
UK law allows an employer to reject a statutory request only for one or more of these reasons:
- Additional costs
- A negative effect on the ability to meet customer demand
- An inability to reorganise work among existing staff
- An inability to recruit additional staff
- A negative effect on quality
- A negative effect on performance
- Insufficient work during the periods the employee wants to work
- Planned structural changes
Any refusal should be explained clearly in writing and discussed with the employee.
What is changing for flexible working in 2027?
The law is tightening. The Employment Rights Act 2025 goes further than the current scheme. Once its flexible working provisions take effect, expected in 2027, an employer will only be able to refuse a request where one of the eight business reasons applies and the refusal is reasonable. Employers will have to give a written explanation of why the refusal is reasonable, follow a set consultation process, and employment tribunals will be able to judge whether the decision itself was reasonable, not only whether the correct process was followed. A government consultation on the new process ran in early 2026. Until the changes land, the rules above still apply.
How does the flexible working request process work?
If you receive a statutory request, handle it properly:
- Acknowledge the request in writing
- Meet the employee to discuss it
- Consider it in a reasonable manner
- Make a decision within two months
- Offer an appeal where you turn it down
- Keep records in case of a later employment tribunal claim
It is good practice to let a colleague or trade union representative attend any meeting, and to offer a trial period where one could work. A trial often turns a tentative maybe into a confident yes.
What is the difference between an informal and a statutory request?
Most arrangements start informally: a quick chat about working from home on Fridays, or shifting a start time by an hour. Many are resolved on the spot or trialled before anything formal happens. But every employee also has the statutory right to make a formal request from day one, and that route has to follow the legal process.
| Informal request | Statutory request | |
|---|---|---|
| How it starts | Quick chat with a line manager | Written request to HR or the manager |
| Typically used for | Temporary or minor changes | Permanent changes |
| Legal duty | No duty to document or consult | Must follow the legal procedure |
| Outcome | May be agreed verbally | Requires a formal response and a possible appeal |
| Next step | Can lead to a formal request | May involve a consultation meeting |
The two routes work together. A trial agreed informally can become a formal request once it has proven itself.
How should managers handle flexible working requests?
Line managers usually receive the first request, and not all feel confident handling one. Training should cover:
- The statutory request process and the two-month deadline
- When an informal request needs to become a formal one
- The eight legal reasons for refusal
- How to communicate a decision reasonably and offer an appeal
- How to suggest alternatives when the original request will not work
Clear, consistent handling reduces the risk of an unreasonable delay or a decision being challenged at tribunal. A simple checklist and a response template keep decisions consistent across the team.
What are the risks of getting flexible working wrong?
Even a well-run process carries risks worth managing.
Coverage and workload
Some patterns strain cover: a job share that splits responsibility unevenly, a compressed week that leaves Fridays thin, or home working that limits supervision of junior staff. To keep meeting customer demand, you may need to redesign the rota, spread tasks across the team, or add check-ins. Planning ahead avoids the additional costs of overtime or last-minute cover.
Fairness and discrimination
The biggest legal risk is inconsistent treatment. If some requests are approved and others refused without clear reasons, you risk frustration, disputes, and claims under the Equality Act 2010, especially where a refusal affects employees who share a protected characteristic, such as women with childcare responsibilities or disabled employees who need a reasonable adjustment. Keep a written record of each request, base every decision on clear and lawful reasoning, and give a proper explanation when you say no.
Rising demand
Since the right became universal, requests have increased, and not every business can absorb every change at once. Review your policy limits, monitor the volume of requests, and be open about the business context. Flexibility is a benefit, not a guarantee, and balanced expectations on both sides keep the system working. Some sectors run their own schemes too, from the NHS Staff Council framework to flexible service in the armed forces, so check whether sector-specific rules apply.
How do you put an approved arrangement into practice?
Once you agree a new pattern, it has to flow through every system that touches someone's hours, or it causes confusion and payroll errors later. The records to update:
- Rostering: adjust shift patterns or working days
- Time tracking: reflect new start and finish times or staggered hours
- Payroll: apply reduced hours, compressed weeks, or part-time pay
- Employment contract: record any permanent change
- Absence and leave: recalculate entitlement based on the new hours
This is where connected software earns its keep. In Shiftbase, an approved change to someone's hours or days updates the schedule and feeds straight into time tracking and absence management, so the new pattern shows up everywhere instead of sitting in a separate document that someone forgets to update.
How does Shiftbase help with flexible working?
Managing a flexible working request is part legal process, part practical one. Once a new pattern is agreed, someone has to keep the rota, the hours, and the leave in step. Shiftbase keeps all three connected, so an approved change to someone's working pattern flows straight into employee scheduling without the extra admin.
