Flexible working: how the right to request works
The short answer
Every employee can make a statutory flexible working request from their first day, up to twice in 12 months. Your employer must consult you, deal with it reasonably and decide within 2 months, including any appeal. It can refuse only for one of eight business reasons. Refusals can be challenged, but compensation is capped at 8 weeks' pay.
If you are an employee, you can make a statutory request for flexible working from your first day in the job, and up to twice in any 12 months. Your employer must handle the request in a reasonable manner, discuss it with you before refusing, and give a final decision, including any appeal, within 2 months unless you agree to longer.
Your employer can say no, but only for one of eight business reasons set out in the law, and the reason has to be genuine. If the request is mishandled you can bring a tribunal claim, though compensation is capped at 8 weeks’ pay. A refusal can sometimes also be discrimination, which is a separate and potentially larger claim. This guide covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own rules.
What counts as flexible working
Flexible working means a change to when, where or how you work. GOV.UK lists job sharing, working from home or remotely, hybrid working, part-time, compressed hours, flexitime, annualised hours, staggered hours and phased retirement.
Who can ask
Acas says the statutory right applies to anyone with the legal status of employee, from the first day of employment. GOV.UK says you can make 2 applications in any 12-month period. Workers who are not employees can still ask informally, but the statutory procedure and its protections do not apply to them.
How to make a statutory request
GOV.UK says a statutory request must include:
- the date of the request
- a statement that it is a statutory request for flexible working
- the change you are asking for and when you would like it to start
- whether, and when, you have made a previous application
It can help to show you have thought about how the change would work in practice, for example how cover would be arranged.
How your employer must deal with it
Your employer must:
- consider the request in a reasonable manner, following the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working
- discuss the request with you before refusing it
- give a final decision, including any appeal, within 2 months of the request, unless you agree to extend this
Acas says employers should accept a request unless there is a genuine business reason not to.
The eight reasons for refusal
Section 80G of the Employment Rights Act 1996 lists them:
| Reason |
|---|
| The burden of additional costs |
| An inability to reorganise work among existing staff |
| An inability to recruit additional staff |
| A detrimental impact on quality |
| A detrimental impact on performance |
| A detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand |
| Insufficient work for the periods you propose to work |
| Planned structural changes to the business |
Appeals
Acas says there is no legal right to appeal a decision, but employers should offer one as part of a reasonable process. Any appeal still has to fit inside the 2-month period unless you agree more time.
If your request is refused
A flexible working claim
According to GOV.UK and Acas, you can bring an employment tribunal claim if your employer:
- did not handle the request in a reasonable manner or follow the Acas Code
- rejected it for a reason that is not one of the eight business reasons, or not genuine
- wrongly treated the request as withdrawn
- dismissed you or treated you badly because you made a request
A tribunal can order your employer to reconsider and can award compensation of up to 8 weeks’ pay. A week’s pay is capped by law; for events from 6 April 2026 the cap is £751, so the maximum would be £6,008. You must notify Acas for early conciliation first. For events on or after 1 October 2026, most claims have a time limit of 6 months minus 1 day.
A discrimination claim
A refusal can also be discrimination. As an illustration only, a blanket rule against part-time work could put more women than men at a disadvantage because of childcare, which may be indirect sex discrimination unless the employer can justify it. For a disabled employee, a change in hours or place of work may be a reasonable adjustment the employer has to make, whatever the flexible working procedure says. See discrimination at work.
What is changing
Acas says that under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers rejecting a request will have to state business reasons from the approved list and explain why the refusal is reasonable. The government lists flexible working changes for 2027, with timing still pending consultation. Nothing had changed on 2 October 2026.
What to check in your contract or letter
- Hours, days and place of work clauses: what you are contracted to do now, and what the change would alter.
- Flexible working or hybrid working policy: any extra rights beyond the law, such as more than 2 requests a year or trial periods.
- Mobility clause that lets your employer change your place of work.
- Pay and benefits terms linked to hours, including holiday, bonus and pension, which change pro rata if you go part-time.
- The refusal letter: which of the eight reasons it relies on, and whether it explains why.
- Any trial period terms and what happens at the end of them.
When it helps to speak to a solicitor
Most requests are settled by discussion. Advice helps if a refusal looks like it is really about your sex, disability or caring role, if you are penalised for asking, or if you are thinking of resigning because a request was refused.
Not sure what yours says? Upload your contract or the letter you've been sent, and we'll show you what it gives you, what it asks of you and the deadlines in it, with the wording behind each.
Check my contractCommon questions
When can I ask for flexible working?
From your first day. GOV.UK says all employees have the legal right to request flexible working and can make a request from day one, and Acas confirms the statutory right applies to anyone with employee status. You can make 2 statutory requests in any 12-month period. Workers who are not employees can still ask, but the statutory procedure does not apply.
How long does my employer have to decide?
Your employer must make a final decision, including any appeal, within 2 months of receiving your request, unless you agree to a longer period. GOV.UK says an employer must discuss the request with you before refusing it, and must deal with it in a reasonable manner, following the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working.
What reasons can my employer give for refusing?
Only the business reasons listed in section 80G of the Employment Rights Act 1996: extra costs, not being able to reorganise work among existing staff, not being able to recruit extra staff, a detrimental effect on quality, a detrimental effect on performance, a detrimental effect on meeting customer demand, not enough work during the proposed hours, or planned structural changes. The reason has to be genuine.
Can I appeal if my request is turned down?
There is no legal right to appeal, but Acas says employers should offer one as part of handling requests reasonably, and the Acas Code of Practice expects it. Any appeal has to fit within the 2-month decision period unless you agree an extension. If you think the request was mishandled, you can raise a grievance or, after Acas early conciliation, bring a tribunal claim.
What can a tribunal award if my request was handled badly?
For a flexible working claim, a tribunal can order your employer to reconsider and award compensation of up to 8 weeks' pay. A week's pay is capped by law, at £751 for events from 6 April 2026. If the refusal was also discriminatory, for example indirect sex discrimination, a separate discrimination claim can lead to wider compensation.
Is the flexible working law changing?
Yes, but not yet. Acas says that under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers rejecting a request will have to show the refusal is reasonable and explain why. The government lists this for 2027, with timing pending consultation. On 2 October 2026 the current rules apply.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Flexible working checked Fri Oct 02
- Acas: Statutory flexible working requests, the right to request checked Fri Oct 02
- Acas: Statutory flexible working requests, appeals checked Fri Oct 02
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 80G (employer's duties and grounds for refusal) checked Fri Oct 02
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 80I (remedies) checked Fri Oct 02
- Flexible Working Regulations 2014, regulation 6 (compensation: 8 weeks' pay) checked Fri Oct 02
- GOV.UK: Redundancy pay (weekly pay cap of £751 from 6 April 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
- Equality Act 2010, section 19 (indirect discrimination) checked Fri Oct 02
- Equality Act 2010, section 20 (duty to make adjustments) checked Fri Oct 02
- Acas: Employment Rights Act 2025 checked Fri Oct 02
- GOV.UK: Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act, timeline update (25 September 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
- Acas: Employment tribunal time limits (updated 1 October 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
This guide is general information about employment law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It isn't legal advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account.