Can I request flexible working from day one of a new job?

Full answer

The right to request flexible working was significantly strengthened by reforms that took effect in April 2024, removing the previous 26-week qualifying service requirement and adding new procedural protections. **Day-one right** Employees can now make a statutory flexible working request from their very first day of employment, rather than needing to wait until they had built up 26 weeks of continuous service, as was previously required. **Two requests per year** Employees can make up to two separate statutory flexible working requests within any rolling 12-month period, an increase from the previous limit of just one request per 12 months. **No need to explain the impact** Employees making a request are no longer required to explain what effect, if any, the change might have on the employer and how that might be addressed -- this was previously a mandatory part of the written request, but has been removed, simplifying the process for employees. **Employer's consultation duty** Before refusing a flexible working request, an employer must now consult with the employee about the request, giving them the opportunity to discuss it, rather than simply rejecting it outright without any dialogue -- failing to consult can make a rejection legally vulnerable to challenge. **Response timeframe** Employers must respond to a statutory flexible working request within two months of receiving it (including any appeal), unless a longer period is mutually agreed, a reduction from the previous three-month statutory response window. **Grounds for refusal remain the same** Employers can still refuse a request, but only on one of the specific statutory business grounds (such as burden of additional costs, inability to reorganise work among existing staff, detrimental impact on quality or performance, or insufficiency of work during the proposed working times), which have not changed under the reforms. **Worked example** A new employee starts a job and, in their first week, requests to work compressed hours over four days instead of five. Because this is now a day-one right, the employer cannot reject the request simply because the employee lacks the previously required 26 weeks' service, though the employer can still refuse on one of the permitted specific business grounds after consulting with the employee about the request. **Practical tip** Put your flexible working request in writing, specifying the change requested and your proposed start date, and if refused, check that your employer properly consulted with you first and cited a genuine, specific statutory ground, since a rejection without proper consultation may be challengeable.

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