Government publishes response to consultation on flexible working

The Government’s Department for Business, Education & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has this week published its response to the consultation on flexible working (first published in September 2021 after the change to working practices arising from the Covid-19 pandemic).

There is nothing too earth-shattering or extensive in the Government’s recent response which can be found here.  However, overall it is positive about the role of flexible working in today’s workplace and makes some sensible suggestions for change which you may want to get ahead of the curve in implementing if not done so already. These include (Courtesy of Penningtons Manches Cooper):

• Making the right to request flexible working a day one right for all employees – currently employees must have 26 weeks’ service in order to make a request. 91% of those responding to the consultation document were in favour of this change, recognising benefits to both employers and employees. The government stopped short, however, of creating the right to work flexibly from day one of employment (the right will remain a right to make a request for flexible working), stating that there is ‘no one size fits all approach to work arrangements’.
• Requiring employers to consult with employees to look at alternative options before declining a flexible working request. It is not clear from the response how this will work in practice, but it is a sensible and welcome change, and will bring the statutory regime in line with the non-binding ACAS Code of Practice.
• Increasing the number of flexible working requests that an employee can make in any 12-month period from one to two.
• Reducing the time limit for an employer to respond to a flexible working request from three months to two.
• Removing the requirement on employees to set out the effects of their flexible working request on the employer and to include suggestions as to how it might be dealt with. This is recognised as an unnecessary burden on employees, which can lead to unfair and discriminatory outcomes. It would be particularly hard for employees to comply with this step when making a request from day one of their employment, when they will be unfamiliar with the employer’s working practices.

For further information on how this issue might affect your Company, or for hep with updating and promoting your flexible working policies please contact Hello@HROptimisation.co.uk