The headline employment rights relating to flexible working in the UK are now set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996, as updated by the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and the supporting regulations that took effect on 6 April 2024. In summary:
The right to request can cover changes to your hours, days, start and finish times, the place of work (including remote or hybrid working), and any other aspect of your working pattern. It applies whether or not the change is linked to a protected characteristic. So you do not need to be a parent, a carer or a disabled employee to ask for flexible working, although those reasons remain among the most common.
In practice, a statutory flexible working request can cover a wide range of patterns. The most common are:
The pattern you ask for matters less than whether it works for the role and whether your employer engages with it properly.
The process is intentionally simple, but it has a number of stages that matter.
Your written request. You must put the request in writing, state that it is a statutory request, set out the change you want and the date you would like it to start.
The employer’s consultation. Your employer must speak with you about the request before refusing it. The ACAS Code expects a meeting, and although the right to be accompanied is not set out in the statute, the Code treats accompaniment by a fellow worker or trade union representative as good practice that the employer should agree to.
The decision, within two months. Your employer can agree, agree with modifications, propose a trial period, or refuse the request on one of eight statutory grounds.
The eight statutory grounds. An employer can only refuse a statutory flexible working request by relying on one or more of these:
The right of appeal. There is no statutory right of appeal, but the ACAS Code expects employers to offer one and to have it handled, wherever possible, by a manager who was not previously involved in considering the request. A refusal without an appeal, or after a process that did not include real consultation, is a strong sign of procedural failure.
If your employer ignores the request, refuses it without proper consultation, or relies on grounds that are not really made out on the facts, the law gives you clear options.
Flexible working discrimination usually arises in one of four ways.
Indirect discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. A policy that requires everyone to work full-time, in the office, or to set hours, will often put women (who still bear the majority of childcare responsibilities), disabled employees and certain religious groups at a particular disadvantage. Unless the employer can show the policy is a “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”, that can be indirect discrimination, regardless of whether they followed the flexible working request procedure correctly. Tribunals have repeatedly accepted what is sometimes called the “childcare disparity” — that women, on average, still bear a greater share of childcare responsibilities and so are less able to comply with rigid working patterns.
Failure to make reasonable adjustments. Where a disabled employee asks for flexible working to remove a disadvantage caused by their disability (for example, working from home to manage fatigue, treatment side-effects, or pain), the employer has a separate, free-standing duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments. The flexible working regime and the reasonable-adjustments duty run in parallel — a refusal that does not engage with the reasonable-adjustments duty is often the clearest sign of disability discrimination.
Discrimination arising from disability. Even where an adjustment is not strictly “reasonable”, a refusal that puts a disabled employee at a disadvantage because of something arising in consequence of their disability (such as a need for predictable hours to manage symptoms) can amount to discrimination arising from disability, unless the employer can justify it as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. A discrimination-arising-from-disability claim and the duty to make reasonable adjustments can both arise from the same refusal and are assessed independently — you do not have to choose between them.
Failure of the statutory process. Where the employer does not deal with the request within two months, does not consult, or relies on a refusal ground that is based on incorrect facts, you have a separate route to bring a tribunal claim under the flexible working legislation itself.
In practice, the strongest cases combine these threads. A poorly handled flexible working request that affects a working mother, a disabled employee, or a religious observer can ground a powerful indirect discrimination or disability discrimination claim alongside the standalone flexible working claim. Reported tribunal decisions such as Thompson v Scancrown Ltd T/a Manors (ET Case No. 2205199/2019), on the refusal of a request for revised hours to accommodate childcare, are examples of where the law has bitten — and reminders that a properly run process matters as much as the eventual decision.
Flexible working discrimination at work rarely looks like an outright “no, because you are a woman”. It is usually quieter and more cumulative. Common patterns include:
If any of those sound familiar, you may already have a claim. A short conversation with experienced discrimination solicitors can quickly tell you whether your case is one worth pursuing.
An employer can refuse a flexible working request, but only on one or more of eight statutory grounds, and only after a real consultation. Even where a refusal ground exists in principle, the employer still has to apply it on the facts of your case. Vague concerns, gut feeling, and “we tried this once and it did not work” are rarely enough to defeat a claim.
It is also important to remember that even a properly reasoned refusal under the flexible working legislation can still be unlawful indirect discrimination under the Equality Act if it puts an employee with a protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage and the policy is not justified.
If you are on a zero-hours contract, a short fixed-term contract, or another atypical pattern, you may have read about a separate statutory right to request a more predictable working pattern under the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023. That Act was passed but was never fully brought into force, and it has now been repealed by the Employment Rights Act 2025, with effect from 6 January 2026. There is no longer a freestanding statutory right to request a predictable working pattern under that legislation.
Workers on atypical contracts are not, however, without protection. The flexible working regime above still applies if you are an employee. The Employment Rights Act 2025 also introduces a new guaranteed-hours framework for zero-hours and low-hours workers, with the main substantive provisions expected to come into force during 2027. Indirect discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 can also arise where requests from particular groups (such as women, disabled workers, or younger workers) are routinely refused. If you are unsure where you stand, take advice early — the picture is changing quickly, and being on the wrong side of a new commencement date can matter.
You usually have a number of overlapping options.
Raise an internal appeal. The right of appeal is not in the statute, but the ACAS Code expects employers to offer one. Where the Code applies, the absence of an appeal is itself a procedural weakness, and a well-run appeal can sometimes resolve matters without further escalation.
Raise a formal grievance. Useful where the refusal is part of a wider pattern of unfair treatment.
Bring an Employment Tribunal claim under the flexible working legislation. Until the new framework in the Employment Rights Act 2025 is commenced, the existing law still applies: a refusal is lawful if the employer genuinely considers that one of the eight statutory grounds applies and that view rests on correct facts. Remedies under the current regime are limited (typically up to eight weeks’ pay capped at the statutory cap, plus an order requiring the employer to reconsider), but a claim creates real leverage. When the flexible working changes in the Employment Rights Act 2025 are commenced (currently expected during 2027), an employer’s refusal will need to be reasonable — the ERA 2025 (section 9) requires that it is reasonable for the employer to refuse on the ground or grounds relied on, on top of those grounds being one of the eight statutory categories. That is an objective reasonableness test and is likely to make procedural challenges easier to bring. The ERA 2025 also gives the Secretary of State power to add further refusal grounds by regulation, so the current list of eight may grow once that framework is in force.
Bring an Equality Act 2010 claim. Indirect sex discrimination, disability discrimination (including failure to make reasonable adjustments), religious discrimination and age discrimination claims attract uncapped compensation, including injury to feelings.
Consider constructive dismissal, where the handling of the request is so poor that it amounts to a fundamental breach of the duty of mutual trust and confidence.
Time limits are strict, so early advice from specialist employment lawyers is critical. Most claims need to be notified to ACAS for Early Conciliation within three months less one day of the act you are complaining about. Notifying ACAS pauses the clock for the period ACAS is dealing with the matter, after which the remaining time resumes (and you have at least one month from the end of conciliation to issue, even if that takes you past the original three-month limit). Where the refusal is also a continuing failure to make reasonable adjustments, the clock can run differently, which is one of several reasons to take advice early rather than late.
Important — time limits are short. If you have had a flexible working request refused, you usually have less than three months to start ACAS Early Conciliation. Waiting to see what happens next can close off your options.
If you are struggling with a flexible working request, are facing flexible working discrimination, or have had a request refused for what feel like the wrong reasons, please get in touch. Our specialist employment lawyers at Lawson West offer a free, confidential first conversation, and we will tell you honestly whether we think you have a claim worth pursuing. With offices in Leicester and Market Harborough, and clients right across the UK, we are a national provider of expert employment law advice and we’re here to help.
Call us on 0116 212 1000 or 01858 445 480, or complete our free online Contact Us form and we will be in touch as soon as possible. Please remember, there are strict time limits in employment claims, so don’t wait too long. We’re here to help.
You no longer need to identify the effects of the proposed change or suggest how the employer might deal with them. You do still need to make the request in writing, state that it is a statutory request, and explain the change you want. Giving the underlying reason (childcare, a disability, a religious obligation, second job, study) is often helpful in framing the request, but it is not strictly required.
A blanket “office only” policy can amount to indirect discrimination if it puts an employee with a protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage and cannot be justified. Employers cannot use a return-to-office policy as a way around the flexible working regime. The same statutory and Equality Act tests apply.
Yes. The right applies to all employees regardless of sex, age or family status. It is a common misconception that flexible working is only for parents. It is not, and treating a male employee’s request less seriously than a comparable female employee’s request can be sex discrimination in its own right.
It depends on what changes. A reduction in hours usually means a pro-rated reduction in pay and some benefits, but core terms (such as pension contributions in percentage terms, holiday entitlement in proportion to hours, and protection against discrimination) continue. Beware of any “tag-along” change that goes beyond what is needed for the new working pattern, and take advice before signing anything.
A statutory flexible working request that has been agreed becomes a permanent contractual change, unless it is expressly time-limited or subject to a trial period. Your employer cannot simply unwind it. Any change to your contract requires consultation and either agreement or proper notice, and forced changes can amount to breach of contract or constructive dismissal.
Where your request is linked to a disability, it should be considered both under the flexible working regime and as a possible reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010. A refusal that does not consider the request as a reasonable adjustment is often a clear sign of disability discrimination.
You can agree any working pattern informally with your manager — many people do, particularly around school runs and medical appointments. An informal arrangement is not protected by the statutory process, so it can be withdrawn or changed without the two-month timeline or the eight statutory grounds applying. A statutory request, made in writing and labelled as a statutory request, locks the employer into the legal process and, if agreed, becomes a permanent contractual change. If informal flexibility has worked but you want it secured, a statutory request is the way to do it.
There is no statutory right of appeal, but the ACAS Code expects your employer to offer one and to have it handled, wherever possible, by a manager who was not previously involved in considering the request. If your employer refuses to consider an appeal, or pushes through a decision without one, that is itself a procedural weakness a tribunal will take into account.
No. The right approach is usually to use the internal process, the appeal, and (if needed) a grievance before going to court. Court is often the last resort, but the prospect of a claim and the existence of strict time limits do tend to focus minds, which is why early advice matters even where you do not plan to litigate.
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Flexible working is, perhaps, the panacea for many parents. In addition, manged in the correct manner, it may be a long-term solution for employers too, facing a skills gap, an issue with finding employees in a post-Brexit Britain and even to resource existing vacancies that require a particular skill or personality fit. So, what is the problem?
