Right to request flexible working extended

31 March 2009

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From 6 April 2009, all employers in England, Wales and Scotland will have a legal obligation to give serious consideration to any request for flexible working patterns from certain employees.

The right to request a flexible working pattern has, since 2003, only applied - and continues to apply - to carers and parents of children aged up to six, or children with disabilities aged up to 18, as well as employees who care for adults.

However, from 6 April 2009, this right will be extended to cover employees with parental responsibility for children aged up to 16. This is thought to extend the right to flexible working to an extra 4.5 million employees.

Employees must meet the following eligibility requirements for having the right to request a flexible working pattern. They will have to:

be an employee, not an agency worker
have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks on the date they apply for flexible working
not have made another statutory request during the past 12 months.

They also have to be:

the parent, adoptive parent, guardian, foster parent or private foster carer of the child or a person who has been granted a residence order in respect of a child.
married to or the partner or civil partner of the child's mother, father, adoptive parent, guardian, foster parent or private foster carer or of a person who has been granted a residence order in respect of a child.

As an employer, you will have a duty to consider such requests seriously. However, you can still say no if you have legitimate concerns about the impact flexible working can have on business. However, more than 95% of all requests for flexible working from working parents and carers are now accepted.

Flexible working can include compressed hours, working from home, or any pattern of hours other than the standard one in an organization. Benefits can include increased productivity and savings on recruitment.

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Right to request flexible working extended

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