New laws will come into force this month which will make flexible working available to all employees regardless of their caring responsibilities.
Law firm Maxwell Hodge is advising employers to prepare now for 30 June. Currently only employees with parental or care responsibilities have a right to request a flexible working pattern. However the major change coming in on 30 June is the extension of this right to all employees who have been employed for 26 weeks or more. Heather Grant, employment lawyer at Maxwell Hodge said: “The new law means that an employee who has worked at a firm for over six months can request flexible working, and this request has to be dealt with reasonably and within in a reasonable period, supported by a statutory code of practice.”
The law was originally planned to come into force in April, but was dropped due to delays in the passage through Parliament. It is supported by a new ACAS Code of Practice for Handling Requests to Work Flexibly in a Reasonable Manner. This will replace the statutory “right to request” procedure that sets out rigid time frames for employers to deal with requests. Any requests must now be dealt with and a decision communicated to the employee within three months, although the emphasis is on dealing with requests as soon as possible. The existing grounds for refusal of a flexible working request, which employers are well used to, will remain and will apply to requests under the new law.
Heather said: “The new regulations put the responsibility on the employer to have their procedures up to date and deal with employees in a fair manner. Flexible working requests can still be declined but employers should remember that they must have a legitimate business reason for doing so. “To prepare for these changes I recommend that employers review any existing flexible working policies and update them to reflect the extension of the right to request to all employees with the requisite service and to outline a revised procedure for handling such requests within the new three month time limit.
