Flexible working rights delayed - Palmers Solicitors

Flexible working rights delayed

A measure that would have given all employees the right to request flexible working arrangements from 6 April has been delayed.

The new right is contained in the Children and Families Bill. The target date for receiving Royal Assent to the Bill has been put back to 21 March and this delay means that there will not be enough time before 6 April to bring into force the secondary legislation that is necessary to implement the flexible working request change.

It has been widely reported that the government intends that the measure will be introduced as soon as possible this year.

At present, employers are legally required to “consider seriously” requests to work flexibly only from employees with a child aged 16 or under, a child with disabilities aged under 18 and employees looking after an adult dependant, such as an elderly parent.

The new measure will extend the right to request flexible working to all employees with 26 weeks’ service.

The Palmers employment law team can provide expert guidance on how the changes to the right to request flexible working could affect your business. Our HR package also offers regularly updated sample policies for matters such as flexible working.

For more information about our employment law services or our HR package, please visit our website or contact Lara Murray.