Flexible working requests: the 2024 rules for employers
Day-one right, two requests a year, the two-month clock, mandatory consultation, the eight business reasons, appeals, and where discrimination law sits behind it.
Reviewed September 2026. Guidance, not legal advice: employment law moves, so check the current position before relying on any of it.
Since 6 April 2024 every employee can ask for flexible working from their first day, twice in any twelve months, and the employer must consult before refusing and decide within two months. The changes made a process that many small employers handled informally into one with statutory steps. Missing a step is a tribunal claim on its own; refusing for the wrong reason can be a discrimination claim.
This guide covers what a valid request looks like, the process, the eight permitted reasons for refusal, trial periods, and the Equality Act questions that sit underneath many requests.
What can be requested
A change to hours, to the times worked, or to the place of work (including working from home). A compressed week, a later start, term-time only, four days instead of five, a move to a nearer site, a hybrid pattern. The statutory scheme covers employees (not workers) and requires the request to be in writing, dated, stating that it is a statutory request, describing the change and the date it should start, and saying whether a previous request has been made and when. Since April 2024 the employee no longer has to explain the effect on the business or how to deal with it.
The process
The steps, in order:
- Acknowledge the request and arrange a meeting. A meeting is not strictly required if you are agreeing in full, but it is required before any refusal.
- At the meeting: discuss the request, the reasons behind it, alternatives if the request as made cannot work, and a trial period if useful. Allow a companion; the Acas Code recommends it.
- Decide, and give the decision in writing: agreed, agreed with a variation the employee accepts, or refused for one or more of the eight reasons with an explanation.
- Offer an appeal, heard by someone else where possible.
- Complete everything, including the appeal, within two months of the request unless the employee agrees in writing to a longer period.
- If agreed, confirm the change to the written particulars within a month (section 4).
The eight business reasons
A refusal is lawful only on one or more of these grounds, and only if the ground actually applies on the facts:
- The burden of additional costs.
- Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand.
- Inability to reorganise work among existing staff.
- Inability to recruit additional staff.
- Detrimental impact on quality.
- Detrimental impact on performance.
- Insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work.
- Planned structural changes.
Trial periods
Where you are not sure, agree a trial: the new pattern for a fixed period, a review date, and a written statement of what happens at the end (permanent if it works; revert if not; either side can propose changes at the review). Without that written agreement, a change made under the statutory scheme is permanent. A trial is also the answer to "we have never done it this way": you find out.
Where discrimination law comes in
A flexible working request refused on business grounds can still be indirect sex discrimination if the requirement to work the existing pattern disadvantages women (who still carry most childcare) and the business reason does not justify it. A request that is really about a disability is a request for a reasonable adjustment, and the test is not the eight reasons but whether the adjustment is reasonable. Religious observance, caring responsibilities under the Carer's Leave Act, and age can all sit behind a request. Before refusing, ask what is behind it, and take advice if the answer touches any of these.
Remedies
For a failure to follow the process, to decide within two months, or to base a refusal on a permitted reason and correct facts, a tribunal can order the request to be reconsidered and award up to eight weeks' pay. Discrimination claims carry uncapped compensation. Dismissal or detriment for making a request is automatically unfair and unlawful.
The checklist
- A written flexible working policy that mirrors the statutory steps and the Acas Code.
- Every written request logged with its date; the two-month clock diarised.
- A meeting before any refusal, with alternatives and a trial discussed.
- Refusals: one or more of the eight reasons, with facts, in writing.
- Appeal offered and heard by someone else.
- Agreed changes confirmed in writing within a month, with pro-rated pay and holiday.
- Ask what is behind the request; take advice where disability, sex or religion may be engaged.
What the law says
- Employment Rights Act 1996 ss.80F to 80I as amended by the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023: the right, two requests, two months, consultation, the eight reasons.
- Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working (April 2024).
- Equality Act 2010 ss.19, 20 and 21: indirect discrimination and reasonable adjustments.
- Employment Rights Act 1996 ss.47E and 104C: detriment and automatically unfair dismissal.
Questions people ask
Can I refuse because we have never done it and it would set a precedent?
Precedent is not one of the eight reasons. You need a real business impact on the facts of this request. If you are worried about the next request, deal with the next request on its facts too.
Does the two months include the appeal?
Yes. Request to final appeal decision in two months, unless the employee agrees in writing to extend. Book the meeting within a fortnight of the request to leave room.
An employee wants to work from home permanently. Do I have to agree?
You have to consider it properly and refuse only on a permitted reason with facts. For a role that is site-based, "the work is on site" is a real reason. For office work that has been done from home successfully, it is harder, and a refusal needs to explain what has changed.
The admin this guide describes, done for you
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