Flexible Working Requests 2026: Day-One Right, 2 Requests a Year

What changed for flexible working in 2024?

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 took effect on 6 April 2024, significantly strengthening employees' ability to request flexible working arrangements. The changes apply UK-wide and represent the biggest shake-up of flexible working law since the right was introduced in 2014.

The 5 key changes

1. Day-one right

Previously, you needed 26 weeks' continuous service before you could make a statutory flexible working request. That qualifying period has been scrapped — new starters can submit a request from their first day in a role.

2. Two requests per year

Employees can now submit up to 2 statutory requests in any rolling 12-month period, rather than just 1. This matters if your circumstances change during the year — for example, if your first request is refused or only partially accommodated, or if your childcare or caring situation shifts.

3. Faster employer response

Employers must now respond within 2 months of the request being made (previously 3 months), unless you and your employer agree to extend the period. This includes time for any appeal process the employer operates.

4. No need to justify business impact

Under the old rules, employees had to set out in their written request how they thought the change might affect the business and how that could be managed. This requirement has been removed — though it can still be persuasive to address it voluntarily.

5. Mandatory consultation before refusal

Employers must now consult with the employee before rejecting a request outright. This is intended to encourage employers to explore whether some form of compromise or alternative arrangement might work, rather than a blanket refusal.

The 8 statutory grounds for refusal

An employer can only refuse a flexible working request if one or more of these grounds genuinely apply:

1. Burden of additional costs
2. Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
3. Inability to reorganise work among existing staff
4. Inability to recruit additional staff
5. Detrimental impact on quality
6. Detrimental impact on performance
7. Insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work
8. Planned structural changes

Employers must genuinely consider the request against these grounds — a request refused for a reason outside this list, or refused without proper consultation, may be challengeable via an employment tribunal claim (subject to time limits and process requirements).

What can a flexible working request cover?

Flexible working is a broad concept and can relate to:

• Hours — e.g. reduced hours, compressed hours
• Times — e.g. different start/finish times, term-time only working
• Place of work — e.g. working from home, hybrid arrangements, a different office
• Any other aspect of the working arrangement, such as job sharing

How to make a strong flexible working request

1. Put it in writing, dated, and make clear it's a statutory flexible working request.
2. State the change you want and the date you'd like it to start.
3. State whether you've made a previous request in the last 12 months and, if so, when.
4. Although no longer required, briefly addressing feasibility (e.g. proposed handover arrangements, coverage plans) often helps your employer say yes faster, since it pre-empts objections on grounds like "inability to reorganise work."
5. Be specific but flexible — offering 2-3 alternative patterns (e.g. "4 days compressed, or Tuesday/Thursday from home") gives your employer room to say yes to something rather than a binary yes/no.

If your flexible working request involves reduced hours, it's worth modelling how that changes your take-home pay and pension contributions before you submit it, so you go into the conversation with a clear picture of the trade-offs.

What if my request is refused unfairly?

If you believe your employer:

• Failed to respond within the 2-month window,
• Refused without proper consultation, or
• Refused on grounds outside the 8 permitted reasons,

you may have grounds to raise a grievance internally and, if unresolved, bring a claim to an employment tribunal. Time limits are tight (generally 3 months less a day from the relevant act), so seek advice promptly (ACAS early conciliation is usually a mandatory first step).

Summary

The 2024 reforms make flexible working easier to ask for, not easier to get — the substantive business grounds for refusal are unchanged. But removing the 26-week wait, doubling the annual request allowance, shortening the response window, and requiring consultation before refusal together make this a meaningfully stronger day-one right for UK employees in 2026.