Comparison · 2026/27
Flexible Working vs Job Share
Flexible working is a broad, day-one statutory right to request changes to hours, timing or location of work. A job share is one specific arrangement within that broader right, splitting a single role between two people. This guide compares how each works, how requests are handled, and what happens to pay and continuity.
At a Glance
| Feature | Flexible Working (general) | Job Share |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Any change to hours/time/place | Split a role between two people |
| Right to request | Day one, since April 2024 | Day one, via same right |
| Requests per year | Up to 2 | Up to 2 |
| Employer response time | 2 months | 2 months |
| Pay impact | Depends on arrangement | Pro-rated between two people |
| Refusal grounds | Same 8 statutory business reasons | |
How the Flexible Working Right Works
Since April 2024, the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 gives every employee the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment, up to twice in any 12-month period. Requests can cover working from home, compressed hours, flexitime, term-time working, part-time hours, or a job share — the employee simply specifies the change they want and how they think it could work.
Employers must respond within two months and, if minded to refuse, should consult with the employee first and can only reject the request on one of eight specified business grounds — cost, inability to reorganise work, recruitment difficulty, effect on quality, insufficient work during proposed times, effect on performance, effect on ability to meet customer demand, or planned structural changes.
How a Job Share Specifically Works
A job share splits the hours, duties and pay of one full-time role between two employees, each usually working a defined portion of the week (commonly, though not always, an even split). Both remain separate employees with their own contracts, pro-rated pay and holiday, and both typically need to coordinate closely on handovers, communication and shared responsibilities.
Setting up a job share is more operationally involved than most other flexible working requests because it usually requires the employer to find, recruit or identify a second person to fill the other portion of the role, which is why the "recruitment difficulty" or "additional cost" grounds are more commonly cited when a job-share request is refused compared with simpler requests like working from home one day a week.