Flexible Working Law 2024: A Guide for Employers

EW Group Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, Vix Anderton, outlines the changes to flexible working law which came into effect on 6th April 2024. Vix also shares her tips for how employers can ensure they meet their obligations and adopt a best practice approach to flexible working.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a global experiment in flexible working. Offices emptied, kitchen tables became workstations and video calls replaced in-person meetings. While initially a response to a crisis, this shift revealed a hidden truth: productivity and collaboration didn’t disappear with the traditional workday.

In fact, for many, flexible working arrangements unlocked a new level of well-being and efficiency. And now, the demand for flexibility remains stronger than ever. The changes to flexible working regulations in April 2024 simply solidified what employees have come to expect: a work style that accommodates their lives, not the other way around.

But for businesses, this isn’t just a legal requirement; it’s a strategic opportunity.

Forward-thinking organisations are recognising that flexible working isn’t just about ticking a compliance box. It’s a strategic advantage that can boost employee satisfaction, retention, and attract top talent in a competitive market.

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What is flexible working?

Flexible working is an umbrella term that covers a broad range of working arrangements, including (but not limited to):

• Part-time working
• Changing your hours to fit other aspects of your life, such as schooling and caring responsibilities
• Compressed hours (working your usual hours in fewer days)
• Working from home
• Job sharing
• Annualised hours (working a certain number of hours over the year)
• Phased retirement (reducing hours in the lead-up to retirement)
• Starting and finishing work at different hours
• Team-based rostering

It’s often incorrectly used synonymously with remote or hybrid working. Remote working takes place solely away from the office whereas hybrid working arrangements give employees the opportunity to work some days in the office and others from home. Both hybrid and remote working are types of flexible working arrangements.

Essentially, flexible working is any working pattern different to the standard working pattern in an organisation that meets the needs of both the employee and the employer in terms of when, where and how an employee works.

What are the changes to the Flexible Working Law?

According to The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 which came into force on 6th April 2024, every employee has the legal right to request flexible working from the first day of their employment. Previously, workers had to be employed for at least 26 weeks before requesting flexible working arrangements.

Employees may now make two such requests in a 12-month period, an increase from a single request under the previous regulations.

Any employee may request flexible working. While it can be supportive to working parents, those with caring responsibilities or those with chronic health conditions or disabilities, flexible working is open and beneficial to all. Employees do not need to justify their application.

To request flexible working arrangements, an employee must make a statutory application, writing to their employer to set out their wish to work flexibly and noting how they wish to work. There is no longer any requirement for the employee to explain what effect their request will have on the employer or how the impact might be dealt with.

From there, the business has two months (reduced from three) to consider its response. The Act requires employers to consult with the staff member before an application may be rejected. Employers must agree to a statutory request for flexible working unless there is a genuine business reason not to.

If the application is refused, they must give business-related reasons for doing so – although the employee may still complain to an employment tribunal if they are unhappy with the decision.

Flexible working is here to stay

In 1999, the TUC’s Labour Force Survey found that just 19.4% of workers in the UK worked with some level of flexibility. This number had risen to 63% by 2017, according to Timewise, and 93% of employees wanted to work part-time or flexibly in that year.

This shift only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2020 Gartner HR survey found that nearly 50% of organisations reported 81% or more of their employees were working from home. This has shown many businesses that they can still work effectively away from the standard office-based 9am to 5pm approach – and vindicated many employees who had unsuccessfully requested it.

According to a 2024 LinkedIn poll of nearly 2,000 people, three-quarters (77%) of employees say flexible working is more important to them when considering a new role than a pay rise.

Similar results were seen in a PayFit survey, which found almost half (46%) of employees would reject a 15% pay increase in favour of retaining workplace flexibility.

The shift to more hybrid and remote working opportunities has been hugely beneficial in reducing the stigma around flexibility – also referred to as flexism. It has particularly benefited women, who continue to carry a disproportionate burden of caring responsibilities, allowing them to stay in more senior positions for longer and opening up opportunities for a more diverse talent market.

Mitigating hidden discrimination

Whilst demand for flexible, hybrid and remote working continues to increase amongst workers, there are hidden risks. Non-traditional working patterns have the potential to exacerbate existing inequalities and promotion opportunities if action is not taken to proactively mitigate the risk.

Flexible working opportunities are more likely to be taken up by women and employees who are already disadvantaged at work in other ways. These groups are more at risk of proximity bias, where leaders and managers tend to treat employees who are physically closer more favourably than those who aren’t. This can result in flexible workers, particularly those who work remotely or at times their manager isn’t, being overlooked for promotion and other opportunities.

Proving this is almost impossible but 41 per cent of workers in a recent survey felt they were less likely to get a promotion or pay rise if they didn’t spend enough time in the office. And like all biases, this happens out of conscious awareness.

Outdated beliefs that people are more productive and perform better in the office than at home can contribute to this negative view of those working flexibly. There is still a stigma around flexible working, with many believing that those who want to work flexibly are somehow unmotivated, unproductive or lazy.

Workers disagree, with 73% saying in a recent poll that they are more productive working from home.

Organisations need to take a robust mitigation approach to ensure that there is no impact on workers’ rights to equality in terms of opportunity for promotion, performance related pay rises and training.

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What can employers do to prepare for the new flexible working law?

Flexible working benefits both employers and employees in workplaces of every size and in every sector. It can:

• Help people to better manage their working lives alongside their personal responsibilities, needs and preferences.
• Benefit health and wellbeing.
• Make employment more accessible for more people.
• Help employers address labour and skills shortages.
• Improve staff retention and recruitment.
• Create more diverse and inclusive workplaces.

Whilst recognising that not every type of flexible working will be suitable in every role or organisation, a proactive starting position for employers to take is to focus on what is possible. Employers can and should be proactive in building flexibility into roles and organisational work processes.

Have early and constructive conversations with existing and prospective employees about the options to work flexibly. This will help organisations reduce the risk of a piecemeal approach to flexible working that is reacting to requests and potentially resulting in those asking last losing out.

So, what are the best practices that might make flexible working work for your organisations?

1. Review your current flexible working policy 

The new legislation which took effect on 6th April 2024 is a great opportunity for organisations to review their existing polices and ensure they align with the new regulations at a minimum. Employers need to make sure they have effective policies to review and respond to applications in a prompt, empathetic and collaborative manner.

At a minimum, your flexible working policy should:

• Clearly define the flexible working arrangements that may be available to minimises confusion and empowers employees to make informed requests.
• Establish a clear and accessible process for submitting flexible working requests.
• Define the process of considering and responding to requests, including clear timelines.
• Outline a clear appeals process for employees who may be unhappy with the initial decision on their request.

A well-crafted policy fosters trust, transparency, and a culture of empowerment. It demonstrates your commitment to a flexible work environment and minimises or mitigates the risks of bias. That also means training managers on how to deal effectively with requests. Organisations should also review policies around promotion, performance-related pay and training to mitigate the risk of biases associated with flexible working.

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2. Train leaders of flexible teams

Leading and managing performance when teams are working flexibly is a different set of skills and one that is new for many managers. Managers need to be able to help their teams redesign work as well as having a clearly articulated view of their teams’ output and impact to effectively measure performance. They must be skilled in delegation and managing team dynamics.

Managers also need to connect and build trust with individuals who may be in different locations or working in different ways, especially to encourage open dialogue about flexible working. Managers should be trained to handle requests fairly and reasonably, including complying with their additional legal duties under the Equality Act 2010.

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3. Be clear and transparent

Transparency about flexible working options begins before people have even started work. Employers should clearly communication the level of flexibility or the different options available in job adverts. This helps jobseekers identify companies that can accommodate their preferences and organisations find staff that will thrive in their working environment.

Transparency is also crucial when it comes to turning down a request for flexible working, which can only happen if there is a genuine business reason not to grant the request as laid out in the Employment Rights Act 1996. Clear communication about the reasoning, and impartial handling of any appeal, can help establish understanding and trust that the request has been handled reasonably.

4. Find a way to make flexible working requests work

Starting from “how could we make this work?” engenders an open and collaborative approach to requests for flexible working.

The new statutory meetings are an opportunity to listen and engage meaningfully so that a well-informed decision can be made. They’re also an opportunity to jointly explore alternatives if the original request cannot be granted. Acas recommend that employees are allowed to be accompanied in such meetings to give them confidence and to support both parties to find a mutually agreeable solution.

5. Take a team approach

The new flexible working law provides an opportunity for employers to assess and identify roles that could benefit from flexible working. Evaluate the viability of different forms of flexible working in individual roles and across teams.

Think about what tasks are best done in the office and which can be equally or even more successfully completed when staff work remotely. It’s also important to create ways for employees who need to work together in-person to have sufficient overlap when they come into the office to work together effectively.

6. Trust people

Trust underpins healthy relationships at work. No-one likes their boss looking over their shoulder or being micro-managed. Trust and empower individuals, leaders and teams. Assume the best in people. Build in accountability on all sides.

Working from home is rarely a cause of poor performance – if managers have concerns about performance, these should be dealt with according to performance management policies rather than assuming being in the office more will solve the problem.

7. Model flexibility

Senior leaders and line managers of all genders working flexibly sets an important example and signals that flexible working is a core part of an organisation’s culture. It shows that flexibility is possible at all levels and in all roles. It helps to dispel pervasive biases, such as that flexible working is only for working mothers.

8. Measure what’s important

The measurement and transparent reporting of flexibility increases accountability and implementation. It can also help organisations track the relationship between flexibility and other organisational targets. Setting targets for uptake of flexible work practices, particularly men’s engagement, can prevent some of the pitfalls and biases around flexible working.

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9. Flexibility from the bottom-up

Flexibility comes in many shapes and forms, not just the hours someone works. Teams can embrace flexibility by creating their own norms and ways of working to support their goals. Examples might include meeting-free Mondays, no meetings over lunch or before 9am, or moving close of business to 9am the next day.

Defining effective and inclusive meeting norms can also help to foster a sense of belonging even as team members work virtually. Teams are often best placed to design workflows to cope with the variations of working patterns, such as how to conduct handovers between team members.

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Embrace the change

The new flexible working law represents an opportunity for employers to reassess and enhance their ways of working. This goes beyond merely complying with the law to embrace new organisational cultures that foster engagement, retention, diversity, inclusions and belonging.

We encourage organisations to think about the wider implications of flexible working for their organisational culture. This may include investing in technology that supports remote and hybrid work, redesigning workspaces to accommodate flexible schedules, and cultivating a culture that values results and people over traditional working hours.

It’s not easy. Human relationships require proximity and connection. Informal collaboration and communication are vital for bonding, support and creativity. It can be hard to spot people who are struggling or feeling stressed if you only see them in a weekly Teams call. Reaping the benefits of flexible working for individuals, teams and organisations will require leaders to be proactive and go beyond the bare minimum required by law. Flexible working is important to employees and it’s here to stay. Will your organisation flex for success?