How To Handle Flexible Working Requests Lawfully In The UK

Flexible working isn’t just a “big corporate” topic anymore. For small businesses, a flexible working request can land on your desk at any time - from a valued team member who needs school pick-ups covered, to an employee asking to work from home to help manage a long-term health condition.

Handled well, flexible working requests can improve retention, reduce absenteeism, and help you keep great people. Handled poorly, they can quickly turn into a staff relations issue (or worse, a discrimination or unfair process claim).

This guide explains what a flexible working request is in the UK, what your legal obligations are as an employer, and how to respond in a practical, lawful way that still protects your business.

What Is A Flexible Working Request (From An Employer’s Perspective)?

A flexible working request is a formal request from an employee to change:

• the hours they work (eg fewer hours, compressed hours, different start/finish times);
• the times they work (eg earlier shifts, split shifts, term-time working); and/or
• the location they work from (eg hybrid working, fully remote).

In practice, a flexible working request often involves changes like:

• Part-time working (eg reducing days per week);
• Compressed hours (eg full-time hours across 4 days instead of 5);
• Flexitime (eg variable start/finish times with core hours);
• Job sharing (two people splitting one role);
• Remote or hybrid working (some or all work done off-site);
• Annualised hours (hours averaged over a year to suit busy seasons).

It’s worth separating two ideas that can get mixed up:

• Statutory flexible working requests (the legal process employees can use), and
• Informal flexibility you might agree as a business (which can still become contractual if you’re not careful).

Once you agree a change, it will usually become a permanent change to the employment contract unless you clearly document it as a time-limited trial or temporary arrangement. This is why it’s smart to keep your Employment Contract terms and any flexible working outcomes properly recorded.

Who Can Make A Flexible Working Request In The UK (And What Changed Recently)?

If you employ staff, it’s important to know the current “baseline” rules. The law around flexible working requests changed in 2024, and those changes matter for small businesses because they affect timing and process.

Day-One Right To Request

Employees now have a day-one right to make a statutory flexible working request. That means a new starter can submit a flexible working request as soon as they begin employment.

This doesn’t mean you must say “yes”. It means you must follow a lawful process and consider the request properly.

How Many Flexible Working Requests Can An Employee Make?

An employee can generally make up to two statutory flexible working requests in any 12-month period.

Decision Timeframes

Employers must deal with a statutory flexible working request (including any appeal, if you offer one) within two months, unless you agree an extension with the employee.

The Duty To Consult Before Refusing

One of the most practical changes for employers is this: before you refuse a flexible working request, you should consult with the employee (for example, by discussing the request and exploring alternatives).

For small business owners, the key takeaway is simple: you can’t treat flexible working requests as an administrative “tick box”. A short meeting and a clear paper trail go a long way.

Also, keep in mind: your approach to flexible working often overlaps with wider hybrid/remote working expectations. If you’re managing requests about working location, it helps to be consistent with your wider approach to attendance and homeworking, including situations where staff push back on workplace changes (for example, returning to the office). Your policies should align with topics like returning to the office.

How To Handle Flexible Working Requests Lawfully: A Step-By-Step Process For Small Businesses

When you receive a flexible working request, you want two things:

• a workable decision for your operations, and
• a process that is fair, consistent, and legally defensible.

Here’s a practical step-by-step approach.

1) Confirm You’ve Received The Flexible Working Request

You don’t need a long letter, but you should acknowledge receipt in writing and confirm the next steps, including expected timeframes.

If the employee hasn’t put the request in writing, you can ask them to do so. This avoids confusion about what’s being requested and when the process started.

2) Check What Exactly Is Being Requested

Before you jump to “yes” or “no”, clarify:

• What change do they want (hours, times, location - or a mix)?
• When do they want it to start?
• Is it permanent or for a set period?
• Are they proposing a trial period?
• How do they suggest work will still be covered?

Many flexible working requests fail simply because the request is too vague. Helping the employee tighten up the proposal can make it easier to assess realistically.

3) Arrange A Consultation Meeting

This is where you protect your business and keep the relationship healthy.

In the meeting, focus on:

• understanding the reason for the request (you don’t need highly personal details, but context helps);
• how the change would impact customers, teammates, supervision, deadlines, and quality;
• possible alternatives if the exact request won’t work.

Keep notes. For a small business, a short written record (even bullet points) is often enough to show you acted reasonably.

4) Assess The Impact On The Business (Not The Person)

The decision should be based on business grounds, supported by evidence where possible. For example:

• Do you have enough cover at key times?
• Will this create extra costs (eg needing additional staff)?
• Will performance be measurable and supervised if the employee works remotely?
• Is customer demand tied to certain hours?

If you need to check operational realities (eg rota coverage, customer peaks, who can do what), do that before deciding.

This is also a good moment to sanity-check against your working time compliance. If the new pattern involves long days, night work, or reduced breaks, make sure it still works under the Working Time Regulations.

5) Consider A Trial Period

If you’re unsure whether a flexible working request will work, a trial can be a good middle ground.

To keep it clean legally, document:

• the start and end date of the trial;
• what “success” looks like (KPIs, deadlines, customer response times, handover standards);
• how and when you’ll review it; and
• what happens if it doesn’t work (eg revert to previous hours/pattern).

Without clear wording, “temporary” arrangements can drift into being treated as permanent custom and practice - and that’s a headache you don’t need.

6) Give A Decision In Writing (And Keep It Specific)

If you accept the request, confirm:

• the new working pattern;
• the start date;
• any trial period and review points; and
• any related changes (eg salary if hours reduce, changes to on-call expectations).

If the change involves a reduction in hours (or shifting from full-time to part-time), you’ll want to document this carefully because it affects pay, holiday accrual, benefits, and sometimes eligibility for certain roles. The mechanics are often similar to scenarios covered in moving from full-time to part-time.

7) Offer An Appeal Route

Even if you’re a small team, offering an appeal (or at least a review) is good practice. It can also help demonstrate fairness if there’s a dispute later.

If you have someone else senior who can hear the appeal, great. If not, you can still do a “fresh look” yourself, but treat it as a genuine reconsideration and document what you did.

When Can You Refuse A Flexible Working Request (And How Do You Do It Safely)?

You can refuse a statutory flexible working request, but only on recognised business grounds. The refusal should be based on a real business reason - not a general dislike of flexible working or assumptions about productivity.

Common lawful reasons include where the change would:

• create extra costs that would damage the business;
• harm your ability to meet customer demand;
• make it difficult to reorganise work among existing staff;
• make it difficult to recruit additional staff;
• harm quality or performance;
• leave you unable to provide work during the periods the employee proposes to work; or
• clash with planned structural changes.

For small businesses, the most common “real world” issues are:

• customer-facing coverage (eg retail, hospitality, clinics, trades);
• supervision and handovers (eg juniors needing oversight);
• limited headcount (one person changing hours impacts the whole rota); and
• confidentiality and data security for remote working setups.

Avoiding The Big Legal Trap: Discrimination Risk

This is where many small businesses get caught out - not because they refused the request, but because how they refused it creates risk under the Equality Act 2010.

A flexible working request can be linked to:

• childcare (often raising indirect sex discrimination risk if handled inconsistently);
• disability or health (which may overlap with the duty to make reasonable adjustments);
• religion (eg needing certain days/times off);
• age (eg older workers requesting different patterns).

You don’t need to accept every request - but you do need to show you considered it properly, consulted, and based your decision on genuine business factors.

What A Good Refusal Letter Includes

If you refuse a flexible working request, your written response should usually include:

• the business reason(s) for refusal (not vague statements);
• a short explanation of why those reasons apply in this case (eg rota cover facts, customer demand data);
• what alternatives you considered (or why alternatives weren’t workable); and
• how the employee can appeal and by when (if you offer an appeal).

If you’re refusing because you’re concerned about performance or output, be careful not to rely on assumptions (eg “working from home isn’t productive”). If there are performance issues, you should manage those properly and consistently - often through your usual performance processes, like using structured steps and documentation similar to lawful Performance Improvement Plans.

How Do You Set Your Business Up To Manage Flexible Working Requests Consistently?

The easiest way to reduce stress with flexible working requests is to prepare before you receive them - not after.

Put A Clear Policy In Place (So You’re Not Reinventing The Wheel)

A consistent internal process helps you avoid:

• knee-jerk approvals that become hard to unwind;
• inconsistent decisions across team members; and
• accusations of unfairness (even when you meant well).

Your flexible working approach can sit inside your broader Workplace Policy framework, especially if it connects to remote work expectations, IT security, availability, and conduct.

If you don’t yet have a structured handbook, it’s often worth consolidating these rules into a Staff Handbook so your team has one source of truth.

Make Sure Your Contracts Match Reality

If your business is operating hybrid, shift-based, or across variable hours, your contracts should support that operationally.

For example, consider whether your Employment Contract covers:

• place of work and mobility (if relevant);
• hours and how variations are handled;
• confidentiality and data protection expectations for remote work;
• how you document variations agreed after a flexible working request.

This is also helpful when you agree trial periods or temporary arrangements - because the more bespoke your working patterns become, the more important it is to document them properly.

Train Your Managers (Even If “Managers” Means You)

In small businesses, flexible working decisions are often made by founders or a small leadership team. That’s fine - but make sure the person handling the request understands:

• the need to consult before refusing;
• the two-month decision timeframe;
• how to spot discrimination risk factors; and
• how to document decisions fairly and consistently.

A simple internal checklist can stop a lot of problems.

Keep Records (Because Memory Isn’t Evidence)

If a dispute arises, what matters is what you can show you did. Keep:

• the written request;
• meeting notes (and who attended);
• your assessment (eg rota impact, cost analysis, customer coverage);
• the decision letter; and
• any appeal outcome (if applicable).

You don’t need to create “legal-style” files - but you do need a clear paper trail.

Common Scenarios: Practical Ways To Respond Without Breaking The Rules

Every workplace is different, but here are a few common scenarios we see for flexible working requests in the UK, and how small businesses can respond sensibly.

Scenario 1: “I Want To Work From Home Full-Time”

If the role is customer-facing, supervision-heavy, or requires secure on-site systems, you may have strong business reasons to refuse full-time remote work.

Instead of a hard “no”, consider whether you can offer:

• a hybrid pattern (eg 2 days at home, 3 days on-site);
• a trial period for remote days; or
• remote work only during quieter periods.

If you do agree, make sure expectations are clear (availability, response times, equipment, confidentiality).

Scenario 2: “I Need Earlier Hours For Childcare”

This is a classic indirect discrimination risk area if you apply a blanket refusal without considering alternatives.

Practical options might include:

• swapping shift allocations;
• staggered start times across the team; or
• compressed hours so the employee still works the same weekly total.

If you genuinely can’t accommodate, document why (eg fixed customer opening times requiring coverage at specific hours).

Scenario 3: “I Need A Reduced Schedule Due To Health”

If the request relates to a health condition that could amount to a disability, you may also need to consider reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 (separate from the statutory flexible working regime).

This is where tailored advice is especially helpful - because the right response depends on the role, medical context, and operational impact.

Scenario 4: “Can I Do This Temporarily For 3 Months?”

Temporary flexibility can be a great solution for small businesses - as long as you document it properly so it doesn’t accidentally become permanent.

Confirm in writing:

• it’s time-limited;
• it will be reviewed on a specific date; and
• what happens after the end date.

Key Takeaways

• A flexible working request is a formal request to change hours, times, and/or working location, and agreed changes often become contractual unless clearly documented otherwise.
• Employees have a day-one right to make a flexible working request in the UK, and they can usually make two requests in a 12-month period.
• You should generally consult with the employee before refusing, deal with the request within two months, and keep a clear written record of your process.
• You can refuse flexible working requests for recognised business reasons, but you should avoid vague explanations and focus on evidence-based operational impact.
• Flexible working decisions often carry discrimination risk (eg childcare or disability-related requests), so consistency and documentation are essential.
• Strong foundations - including a clear policy, updated contracts, and good record-keeping - make flexible working requests far easier to manage as your business grows.

This article is general information only and isn’t legal advice. If you’d like advice on your specific situation, get in touch with a solicitor.

If you’d like help setting up a legally compliant process for flexible working requests, updating your Employment Contracts, or putting the right policies in place, you can reach us at 08081347754 or team@sprintlaw.co.uk for a free, no-obligations chat.