Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted
We are disappointed that the long-promised Employment Bill has still not materialised.
Recommendation
We are disappointed that the long-promised Employment Bill has still not materialised. The Government should bring forward legislation before the end of the current Parliament to make the right to request flexible working a day-one right for all employees. It should issue employers with guidance encouraging them to grant any reasonable requests for flexible working, rather than placing the burden on the employee to justify their request. (Paragraph 67) Legal reform
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation to make flexible working a ‘day one’ right, committing to changes through regulations and supporting the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill to deliver these changes, including allowing two statutory requests in a 12-month period and reducing administration time.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
78. The government accepts this recommendation. 79. Promoting flexible working is a government Manifesto commitment. 80. The existing right to request flexible working currently supports all employees with 26 weeks continuous service to make applications to change their working hours, working patterns and/or work locations. There is guidance on making a request for flexible working available on both GOV.UK26 and the ACAS website.27 81. In December 2022, the government published the response to its consultation on flexible working28. In the response the government committed to make flexible working a ‘day one’ right—employees will no longer need to wait 26 weeks before accessing their statutory right to make a request to change their hours, time, or place of work. The government can make this change through regulations. 82. The consultation also committed to: bring forward legislation to require a conversation before an employer can reject a flexible working request; allow two statutory requests for flexible working in a 12 month period rather than the current one; reduce the time within which an application must be administered from three months to two months; and remove the requirement for the employee to set out how they believe their request can be accommodated, The government is supporting the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill, currently going through Parliament, which would deliver these changes. 83. The government will consider guidance alongside legislative developments.