The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working has now completed its passage through Parliament and granted Royal Assent. It will come into effect at some point next year, probably April 2024.
What will the Act do?
– Employees will now be able to make two flexible working requests in any 12 month period, not only one as presently.
– Removes the requirement for the employee to address the impact of their request: The existing requirement for an employee to explain in their application the effect of their flexible working request on the employer will be removed.
– Obliges employers to consult with an employee making a request before rejecting it. An employee may make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal if their employer does not consult with them prior to rejecting their statutory request for flexible working.
– Reduces the period for employers to process a flexible working request within two months of receipt rather than the three-month current timescale.
What Doesn’t It Do?
In terms of what it doesn’t do:
It doesn’t make flexible working a ‘Day 1 right’. Employees still need to have been employed for at least 26 weeks before they are able to make a request;
It doesn’t require employers to offer a right of appeal if a flexible working request is rejected. However, the offer of a right of appeal is recommended in the ACAS Code of Practice on Flexible Working.(https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-flexible-working-requests/html)
There is no requirement that consultation with the employee is substantive or covers the options available. Indeed, there is no minimum standard of consultation set out at all.
Whilst these changes are hardly monumental, it is time to review current FW policies in line with these changes and get ready for when the Act becomes law next year.
Please contact The Pinnacle Partnership should you need guidance and specific advice on these or any employment legal related issues on 0330 323 0435 or by email – info@pinnaclepartnership.co.uk