Statutory flexible working policy for UK employers. Day-one right, two requests a year, two-month decision, eight refusal grounds, ERA 2025 ready. From £4.99.
A Flexible Working Policy sets out how an employer handles statutory requests from employees to change when, where or how they work — part-time hours, compressed or staggered hours, flexitime, remote or hybrid working, job shares and more. The right to request flexible working sits in sections 80F to 80I of the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1328).
Any employer with staff should have a written Flexible Working Policy. Since 6 April 2024 the right to request is a day-one right — there is no longer a 26-week qualifying period. Employees can now make two statutory requests in any 12-month period, the employer must decide within two months (including any appeal) unless a longer period is agreed, and the employer must consult the employee before refusing. A clear policy keeps every request handled lawfully and consistently.
How an employee makes a request; how and by whom it is considered; the duty to consult before any refusal; the two-month decision timescale; trial periods; the eight statutory business grounds on which a request may be refused (Employment Rights Act 1996 s.80G(1)(b)); appeals; what happens when a request is approved (a permanent contractual variation unless agreed otherwise); protection from detriment and the Equality Act 2010 discrimination angle; and records and review. From 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025, a refusal will additionally have to be reasonable — the policy is drafted with that change in view.
Use this policy alongside your other core employment documents: the Employment Contract (which should refer to your policies), the Disciplinary and Grievance Policy (Acas Code compliant), and the Health & Safety Policy. Together these cover the written documents every UK employer with staff is expected to have in place.
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