Dean Wilson LLP on changes to flexible working
Get flexible
Victoria Wright of local solicitors Dean Wilson LLP answers questions on employment law.
Changes to flexible working come into force on 30 June 2014. As with the current legislation, it is only a right to request flexible working and not a right to flexible working.
An employee will still have to have 26 weeks’ service under the new regime. At present, however, an employee can only make a request if they are the carer of a child aged under 16 (or under 18 if the child is disabled) or if they have a spouse or relative or they live with an adult in need of care. After 30 June 2014, an employee may make a request and does not have to demonstrate any caring responsibilities So an employee could make a request as they wish to pursue a hobby, want to do voluntary work, or study a subject unrelated to their current role. An employee does not have to explain the reason behind the application.
The current process is very rigidly timetabled and it provides for an application and then meetings,
with time limits for responses.
Under the new process there is no set timetable, however there is an obligation to deal with requests in a ‘reasonable manner’ and to notify the employee of the decision within three months. Some employers may prefer a less prescribed approach, however, some may have welcomed the structure the previous process gave them – at least both parties know what should happen and when.
An employee can still only make one application in a 12-month period, the application must be in writing and must include the following:
• The date of application, the change to working conditions the employee is seeking and when they would like the change to come into effect
• What effect, if any, they think the requested change would have on the employer and how, in their opinion, any such effect might be dealt with
• A statement that it is a statutory request and if and when a previous application for flexible working had been made.
An employer can only reject the request for one of the following business reasons:
• The burden of additional costs
• An inability to reorganise work among existing staff or to recruit additional staff
• A detrimental impact on quality, performance or on the ability to meet customer demand
• Insufficient work for the periods the employee proposes to work
• A planned structural change to the business.
ACAS has issued a statutory Code of Practice.
Victoria Wright qualified as a solicitor in 2000 and has focused on employment law ever since, advising employers and employees. She specialises in reducing risk for clients; and providing straight-forward and cost-effective advice.
