Flexible Working Requests: Your Legal Rights

If you ask your employer to change your working hours, days, pattern or location, they do not automatically have to say yes. But they cannot simply reject a statutory flexible working request because they dislike the idea, prefer everyone to work traditional hours, or believe flexibility is unsuitable without considering the request properly.

In the UK, employees have had a day-one right to request flexible working since April 2024. You can make up to two statutory requests in a 12-month period, and your employer normally has two months to deal with a request. Before refusing it, the employer must discuss the request with you.

The key distinction is that you have a right to request flexible working, not an absolute right to receive the arrangement you ask for. Under the rules currently operating in 2026, an employer can refuse for one or more of eight specified business reasons.

That position is changing again. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a new requirement that a refusal must be reasonable and that employers will have to explain why the refusal is reasonable. These changes are planned for 2027.

So, whether you are asking to work from home, reduce your hours, change your start and finish times, compress your working week or move to a different working pattern, it is worth knowing exactly where your employer's legal limits lie.

What can and cannot happen when you make a flexible working request?

What does flexible working legally mean?

Flexible working means changing the contractual terms governing when, how long or where you work.

Common arrangements include:

• Part-time working
• Flexitime
• Compressed hours
• Staggered hours
• Job sharing
• Term-time working
• Changes to working days
• Changes to start and finish times
• Remote working
• Hybrid working

The government describes flexible working as covering changes to hours, working patterns and the place where work is carried out.

For example, an employee currently working Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm might ask to work Monday to Thursday from 8am to 6pm instead. Someone else might request three days working from home and two days in the office.

Flexible working is therefore much broader than simply "working from home".

Who has the statutory right to request flexible working?

An employee can make a statutory flexible working request from their first day of employment. There is no longer a requirement to complete a qualifying period before making the request.

However, the statutory right belongs to employees. Not every person working for a business has employee status. Acas notes, for example, that agency workers and many casual or zero-hours workers may not have the same statutory right to make a request under this procedure.

This distinction matters because employment status affects which employment rights apply.

How many flexible working requests can you make?

You can make two statutory flexible working requests in any 12-month period.

You cannot normally have two statutory requests proceeding with the same employer at the same time. A request remains live until it is decided, withdrawn, agreed, or otherwise concluded. It can also remain live during an appeal or an agreed extension to the decision period.

That means you should think carefully about what you ask for before submitting the application.

If your first request is rejected, you may have another statutory request available, but using your second application simply to repeat the first request may not be the best strategy. A revised proposal that addresses the employer's concerns could be more effective.

What must a statutory flexible working request contain?

A statutory request should be made in writing and should include:

1. The date of the application.
2. A statement that it is a statutory flexible working request.
3. Details of the working arrangement you want.
4. The date you want the change to start.
5. Details of any previous statutory flexible working request made to the same employer and when it was made.

Your employer may have an internal form or procedure, so check the company's flexible working policy first.

One significant change introduced in 2024 was the removal of the requirement for employees to explain the expected effect of their proposal on the employer and how that effect could be dealt with.

Even though that explanation is no longer a statutory requirement, providing a practical proposal can still strengthen your application.

Does your employer have to discuss the request with you?

Yes, before refusing a statutory request, your employer must discuss it with you.

This is one of the important changes introduced by the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023. The legislation introduced a requirement for employers to consult employees before rejecting a request.

A useful discussion is not supposed to be a meaningless meeting where the employer has already made its decision.

Acas guidance says consultation can help employers understand the request, identify potential problems, explore alternatives and consider whether the arrangement may relate to a disability or another legal issue.

For an employee, this is your opportunity to ask practical questions.

For example:

"You have said that having me finish at 3pm would affect customer coverage. Would starting earlier, working one late evening a week or changing the arrangement to three days rather than five solve that problem?"

That turns a rejection into a discussion about workable alternatives.

What are the eight legal reasons an employer can use to refuse?

Under the current statutory framework, an employer can reject a flexible working request only for one or more of eight specified business reasons. These are set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996 framework and reflected in the Acas Code.

The important point is that these are not eight blank excuses.

An employer should be able to connect its refusal to the actual circumstances of your role and the arrangement you have proposed.

Can an employer simply say "we don't allow flexible working"?

Generally, a blanket statement is not enough to deal with a statutory request properly.

An employer is not required to accept every request. However, the current framework requires the employer to deal with the request reasonably and, if refusing, rely on one or more of the permitted business reasons.

Imagine an office manager says:

"Nobody in this department works from home."

That is not necessarily an adequate explanation for refusing a particular request.

The relevant question is why this particular arrangement creates a genuine business problem.

For example, if the employee's role requires physical access to confidential equipment every day, there may be a strong business reason. If the employee already performs most duties remotely and the employer simply prefers office attendance as a matter of policy, the situation may deserve much closer examination.

Can an employer refuse because they think flexible workers are less committed?

A personal opinion about commitment is not one of the eight statutory business reasons.

An employer should not substitute assumptions about an employee's attitude for evidence about the operational effect of the proposed arrangement.

For example, saying:

"People who work from home aren't as committed."

does not itself establish additional costs, staffing problems, reduced quality, reduced performance or another statutory ground.

The employer should instead assess the actual job, the proposed arrangement and the likely effect on the business.

Can an employer refuse a request because other employees might complain?

Potentially, but not simply because someone might dislike it.

Suppose two members of a small team both request every Friday off. The employer may genuinely be unable to cover the work. That could raise issues involving reorganisation of work, recruitment or customer demand.

Acas guidance says employers should consider requests in the order they were received if they cannot find a compromise, rather than automatically prioritising one employee because of their personal circumstances.

The employer should therefore focus on the operational problem rather than simply saying:

"Your colleague will be annoyed."

Can an employer refuse a work-from-home request?

Yes.

There is no general legal right for every employee to work from home whenever they choose.

Working from home is one possible form of flexible working, and an employer can reject a remote-working request if one of the permitted business grounds genuinely applies.

For example, a laboratory technician may need to be physically present to operate equipment. A receptionist may need to provide front-desk coverage. A retail employee may need to work at a particular location.

On the other hand, where duties are already performed effectively remotely, the employer should still properly consider the individual request rather than treating "we prefer office working" as the end of the discussion.

Can an employer refuse reduced hours?

Yes, reduced hours can be refused if one of the permitted business grounds applies.

Consider an employee who works 40 hours and asks to move permanently to 25 hours.

If the role requires a fixed amount of work that cannot be redistributed and the employer cannot recruit someone to cover the remaining hours, the employer may have a legitimate reason to refuse.

But there may be alternatives.

The employer and employee could discuss:

• A different reduction in hours
• Different working days
• A compressed arrangement
• Job sharing
• A temporary arrangement
• A different start date

A refusal of one proposal does not necessarily mean that every form of flexibility is impossible.

Can an employer refuse because the request would cost more?

Yes, additional costs are one of the eight permitted grounds.

But the practical question is what the additional cost is and whether it creates a genuine burden on the business.

For instance, if changing an employee's working pattern requires paying for additional cover that cannot reasonably be avoided, cost may be relevant.

Employees should therefore ask for clarification if a refusal simply says:

"This will cost too much."

Useful questions include:

• What additional cost has been identified?
• Is the cost temporary or permanent?
• Was alternative staffing considered?
• Could the arrangement be changed to reduce the cost?
• Is there another pattern that would work?

The current law does not impose the same reasonableness test that is due to apply from the 2027 reforms, but employers are still required to deal with requests reasonably and use a permitted statutory ground for refusal.

Can an employer refuse because there is not enough work at the requested time?

Yes.

This is one of the eight specific statutory grounds.

Imagine an employee asks to change from 9am–5pm to 12pm–8pm, but almost all customer work occurs between 9am and noon and there is very little work after 5pm.

The employer may be able to rely on insufficient work during the proposed hours.

However, the explanation should relate to the actual working pattern and role rather than simply state that the business does not like late shifts.

What happens if the request affects customers?

Customer demand is specifically recognised in the legislation.

A restaurant, call centre, healthcare service, retail business or professional practice may need particular staffing levels at particular times.

For example, if a small customer-support team receives most calls between 9am and 1pm, allowing several employees to move their working hours away from that period could create a genuine coverage problem.

That does not automatically mean every request should be rejected.

The employer could investigate whether the problem can be solved through staggered hours, rota changes, recruitment or redistribution of duties.

Can an employer reject a request without giving a proper explanation?

Under the current 2026 framework, the employer must tell you that the request has been refused and give the relevant business reason. GOV.UK also states that an employee may potentially complain to an employment tribunal.

The Acas Code recommends that a refusal letter includes useful information about the reasons, such as the steps taken to investigate the request, practical aspects preventing acceptance, alternatives considered and relevant data where appropriate.

There is an important future change here.

From 2027, the Employment Rights Act 2025 will require an employer refusing a flexible working application to explain why it considers the refusal reasonable in relation to the statutory ground or grounds relied upon.

That makes the explanation significantly more important.

What if the employer does not follow the process?

A flexible working dispute is not necessarily as simple as "my employer said no, therefore the refusal is illegal."

The legal position can depend on what happened during the application.

Potential problems include:

• The employer failing to deal with the request reasonably.
• Refusing without discussing the request first.
• Giving a reason unrelated to the statutory grounds.
• Treating the employee unfairly because they made a request.
• Discriminating against the employee.
• Failing to comply with relevant contractual or workplace procedures.

Acas says employees have protection from detriment and unfair dismissal in connection with making, planning to make or raising issues about a statutory flexible working request.

If the situation becomes contentious, keep copies of the request, meeting notes, emails, the employer's decision and any appeal.

What if flexible working is connected to disability?

This is where flexible working law can overlap with the Equality Act 2010.

If an employee's request relates to a disability, the employer may have separate legal duties concerning reasonable adjustments.

Acas specifically states that the obligation to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees is separate from the statutory flexible-working procedure.

That distinction matters.

An employer should not assume that rejecting a statutory flexible working request ends the issue if the proposed change could be a reasonable adjustment.

For example, an employee with a disability might ask to change their start time because their condition makes early travel particularly difficult. The employer may need to consider the request through both flexible-working and disability-discrimination obligations.

This is an area where individual circumstances matter, so specialist employment advice can be valuable.

Can an employer discriminate when dealing with a flexible working request?

No.

Employers must not unlawfully discriminate when handling flexible working applications. The Acas Code specifically warns employers against discrimination relating to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Protected characteristics include:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

A flexible working request might therefore raise more than one legal issue.

For example, refusing a request from a woman because the manager assumes she should prioritise childcare could potentially create discrimination concerns. Similarly, treating an employee's request differently because of a disability may raise Equality Act issues.

How long does an employer have to decide?

The statutory decision period is normally two months from the date of the request, unless you and the employer agree to extend it.

The two-month period includes the handling of the request and any appeal.

This is considerably shorter than the previous three-month framework. The 2023 legislation reduced the statutory decision period from three months to two months.

If an extension is agreed, it should be confirmed in writing.

What should you do if your request is refused?

Do not immediately assume that you have no options.

A sensible response is:

1. Read the refusal carefully

Identify the exact statutory reason or reasons given.

Ask yourself whether the explanation actually relates to your job and proposed working pattern.

2. Check whether consultation happened

If the employer refused without discussing the request with you, record what happened.

The statutory framework requires consultation before refusal.

3. Ask for clarification

You can ask what practical issue prevents the arrangement from working.

For example:

"Could you explain which part of the proposed working pattern creates the customer coverage problem?"

That may reveal that the problem is smaller than originally assumed.

4. Consider an alternative

Perhaps the employer cannot accept four days from home but could accept two.

Perhaps a 9am start is impossible but 9.30am works.

Perhaps five shorter days would work better than four compressed days.

Flexibility can often be designed rather than treated as an all-or-nothing decision.

5. Consider an appeal

Acas recommends giving employees an opportunity to appeal and says appeals should be handled fairly and impartially.

Check your employer's policy for the applicable deadline.

6. Keep evidence

Save:

• Your original application
• The employer's response
• Emails
• Meeting notes
• Alternative proposals
• Staffing information you were given
• Appeal correspondence

This creates a clear record if the dispute later becomes a formal employment issue.

What is changing in 2027?

The biggest upcoming change is the introduction of a reasonableness test.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 changes the existing framework so that an employer may refuse only where it considers that one or more statutory grounds applies and it is reasonable to refuse on that ground or grounds.

The employer will also have to explain why it considers the refusal reasonable.

The eight existing business grounds remain. What changes is the burden placed on the employer to justify the refusal.

The government says these changes are expected to take effect in 2027, with further regulations setting out the consultation process. The latest implementation timetable lists flexible working among the measures expected to take effect during 2027.

This does not mean every flexible working request will have to be accepted.

Businesses will still be able to refuse requests that genuinely cannot reasonably be accommodated.

The difference is that an employer will have to do more than point to one of the eight headings.

What could the 2027 rules mean for employees?

The practical effect should be greater transparency.

Suppose an employer says:

"We are refusing because of performance."

Under the future framework, the employer will need to explain why it considers refusal reasonable on that ground.

That could encourage more detailed discussions about:

• How performance would actually be affected
• Whether the concern can be measured
• Whether a trial period could reduce uncertainty
• Whether a modified arrangement could solve the problem
• Whether alternative supervision or technology could help
• Whether only part of the request creates difficulty

The government has described the reforms as intended to make it more likely that reasonable and feasible flexible working requests are accepted.

Does the 2027 change mean employers cannot refuse flexible working?

No.

That is an important distinction.

The future law does not create an unconditional entitlement to work from home, reduce your hours or choose your own schedule.

The eight business grounds remain part of the legal framework. The change is that the employer must also consider whether refusal is reasonable and explain its reasoning.

So a hospital, shop, factory, construction company or customer-service operation will still be able to refuse arrangements that genuinely cannot work.

The question becomes whether the employer can reasonably justify that conclusion.

How should employers prepare for the new rules?

Businesses should avoid treating flexible working applications as administrative paperwork.

A stronger process involves:

1. Reviewing the proposed arrangement objectively.
2. Identifying the actual operational impact.
3. Gathering relevant evidence.
4. Discussing concerns with the employee.
5. Exploring alternatives.
6. Considering whether a trial arrangement could work.
7. Checking Equality Act obligations where relevant.
8. Recording the reasoning behind the final decision.
9. Communicating the outcome clearly.

This is particularly important for small businesses where one employee's working pattern can have a noticeable effect on staffing.

The government is consulting on the detailed process employers will need to follow before rejecting requests under the new framework.

What is the best way to make a strong flexible working request?

Although you do not legally have to provide a detailed business case in the statutory application, a well-designed request can make the conversation easier.

Instead of writing:

"I want to work from home on Mondays and Fridays."

you could explain:

"I would like to work remotely on Mondays and Fridays from 1 September. My role can be completed remotely on those days, and I will remain available during normal working hours through email, Teams and telephone. I would attend the office on Tuesday to Thursday."

The second proposal gives the employer something concrete to assess.

If you can identify foreseeable problems and suggest practical solutions, even better.

For example:

"If Friday customer meetings are required, I can attend remotely or swap my remote day to Wednesday."

You are not legally required to solve the employer's problem for them. But practical proposals can make it easier to find a workable arrangement.

Common mistakes employees make

Some flexible working disputes become harder because the employee's request is vague or unnecessarily rigid.

Common mistakes include:

• Asking for "flexibility" without specifying what that means.
• Failing to state a proposed start date.
• Ignoring the employer's existing flexible-working policy.
• Treating a request as an automatic entitlement.
• Refusing to discuss alternatives.
• Making unsupported accusations after an initial rejection.
• Forgetting that statutory requests are limited to two per 12 months.
• Assuming a flexible-working dispute automatically proves discrimination.

A strong request is specific, realistic and focused on the working arrangement.

Common mistakes employers make

Employers can also create avoidable problems.

Examples include:

• Rejecting a request before consulting the employee.
• Using "company policy" as the only explanation.
• Giving a reason that does not match one of the statutory grounds.
• Treating all requests identically without considering the actual role.
• Failing to explore alternatives.
• Ignoring potential disability-related reasonable adjustments.
• Allowing personal assumptions about commitment to influence the decision.
• Missing the two-month decision deadline.
• Failing to keep adequate records.

Acas recommends that employers handle requests reasonably and consider both the potential benefits and impacts of accepting or rejecting them.

What is the future of flexible working in the UK?

The direction of UK employment law is towards greater access to flexible working, but not unlimited employee choice.

The 2024 reforms already moved the right to request to the first day of employment, increased statutory requests to two per year, shortened the decision period to two months and introduced mandatory consultation before refusal.

The next major step is the 2027 reasonableness requirement.

At the same time, employers are adapting to hybrid work, remote collaboration, digital communication and changing expectations around working patterns.

The government has also said it is consulting on how flexible working reforms should operate in practice, including the process for consultation before refusal.

For employees, this means a flexible working request is becoming less about asking for a favour and more about engaging with a formal employment-rights process.

For employers, it means decisions need to be increasingly evidence-based, consistent and properly documented.

The most successful approach is unlikely to be "employees always get what they ask for" or "businesses can refuse whenever they want."

It is more likely to be a structured conversation about what the role genuinely requires, what the employee is proposing and whether a workable middle ground exists.

Key Insights

• You have a day-one right to request flexible working, but not an automatic right to have your preferred arrangement accepted.
• Employers currently have eight statutory business grounds for refusing a request.
• Your employer must consult you before refusing a statutory request.
• You can make two statutory requests in a 12-month period, with only one normally live at a time.
• A decision normally has to be made within two months, unless a longer period is agreed.
• Disability-related requests may trigger separate reasonable-adjustment duties under the Equality Act 2010.
• From 2027, employers will have to show that refusing a request is reasonable as well as relying on one of the existing statutory grounds.
• A refusal of one arrangement does not necessarily rule out another. Negotiating an alternative pattern can sometimes resolve the underlying business concern.

FAQ

1. Can my employer legally refuse my flexible working request?

Yes. Employers can currently refuse a statutory flexible working request if one or more of eight specified business reasons applies. However, they must handle the request reasonably and consult you before refusing it.

2. Can my employer refuse flexible working because they do not like it?

A general dislike of flexible working is not itself one of the eight statutory refusal grounds. The employer should identify a genuine business reason that falls within the legal framework and relates to the proposed arrangement.

3. Can I request flexible working from my first day?

Yes. Employees have a statutory right to request flexible working from the first day of employment. You do not need to complete a qualifying service period before making a statutory request.

4. How many flexible working requests can I make each year?

You can make up to two statutory flexible working requests during a 12-month period. You normally cannot have more than one statutory request with the same employer proceeding at the same time.

5. Can my employer refuse a work-from-home request?

Yes. Working from home is a form of flexible working rather than an unconditional legal entitlement. An employer can refuse if a permitted business ground genuinely applies.

6. Can my employer refuse because there is no one to cover my hours?

Potentially. If the employer genuinely cannot reorganise work among existing staff or cannot recruit additional staff, one of the statutory refusal grounds may apply. The employer should still discuss the request and consider alternatives.

7. Can my employer refuse flexible working because of customer demand?

Yes. A detrimental effect on the business's ability to meet customer demand is one of the eight statutory grounds for refusal.

8. How quickly must my employer decide?

The normal statutory decision period is two months from the date of the request. You and your employer can agree to extend this period.

9. Does my employer have to meet with me before refusing?

Yes. Before refusing a statutory flexible working application, the employer must discuss the request with you. Consultation is intended to help identify problems and explore possible solutions.

10. What can I do if my flexible working request is rejected?

Read the stated refusal reason, check whether the required process was followed and consider using your employer's appeal procedure. You can also ask whether an alternative working pattern would address the stated business concern.

Final Thoughts

A flexible working request is not a guaranteed route to the hours, location or schedule you want. Your employer can still refuse a statutory request when there is a genuine business reason covered by the law.

But the employer's discretion has limits.

In 2026, the employer must deal with the request reasonably, consult you before refusing it and rely on one or more of the eight statutory business grounds. The process becomes more demanding again in 2027, when employers will have to explain why a refusal is reasonable.

If your request is refused, the most useful question may not be "Can they say no?" but "What exactly prevents this arrangement from working, and is there another arrangement that solves that problem?"

That shift can turn a frustrating rejection into a constructive negotiation.

And if your request involves disability, discrimination, pregnancy, caring responsibilities or another potentially protected issue, do not treat it as an ordinary flexible-working dispute without considering the additional employment rights that may apply.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and research purposes only. Company details, features, services, and market positions may change over time. Readers are advised to visit official company websites and conduct independent research before making any business decisions or purchasing services.