Right To Request Flexible Working To Be Extended

Whilst anyone can ask their employer for more flexible working arrangements, at the moment only parents and others (such as guardians) who are responsible for looking after children under the age of six years (or 18 years if the child is disabled) and those with caring responsibilities for adult relatives have the legal right to request to work flexible hours, provided they have worked for their employer for 26 weeks continuously before the application is made. The employer is obliged to take the request seriously.

The Government has now announced a proposed extension of this right to those with children up to age 16, as recommended in an independent review carried out by Imelda Walsh, the HR Director of Sainsbury's. This will mean that an extra 4.5 million parents in Britain will gain the right to request flexible working. The Government will now consult on implementing the proposals.

Where the legal right to request flexible working exists, an employer must consider a request seriously and must follow a set procedure and timetable. An employer can only refuse such a request if they can demonstrate a clear business reason for doing so.

The review document can be found at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file46092.pdf.

If you receive a request for flexible working arrangements and would like individual advice, please contact Dean Parnell.