Every employee has a legal right to ask their employer for flexible working, and that right applies from the first day in a job. This article explains what the right covers, how employers are expected to respond, and what it means in a London labour market shaped by hybrid work.
What is the statutory right to request flexible working?
According to GOV.UK, all employees have the legal right to request flexible working. The route for doing so is called a statutory application, and an employee can make one from their first day in a job. Guidance from GOV.UK notes that the rules are different in Northern Ireland, so the position described here applies to England, Scotland and Wales.
The word “request” matters. The law gives employees a right to ask and to have the request considered properly. It does not give them a right to be granted the arrangement they want. That distinction sits at the heart of nearly every dispute about the subject, and it explains why the quality of the employer’s process is so often the focus of advice from Acas and others.
Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, describes flexible working arrangements as a way of changing when, where or how someone works. That is a wider definition than many people assume. It is not only about working from home.
What can an employee actually ask to change?
GOV.UK lists the changes a statutory request can cover:
- the number of hours worked
- start and finish times
- the days worked
- the place of work
In practice, those four headings stretch across a wide range of arrangements. Reduced hours or a part-time pattern falls under hours. Staggered starts that avoid the busiest commuting periods fall under start and finish times. A compressed week, with the same hours packed into fewer days, falls under the days worked. Working some or all of the week from home, or from a different site, falls under place of work.
For London workers, the last two headings tend to dominate. Commuting patterns into central London shape the daily experience of work for a very large number of people, and the ability to shift a start time or reduce the number of days spent travelling can change the practical value of a job considerably. The wider story is explored in how work is changing for London’s professional workforce.
Does it matter that the right starts on day one?
It matters a great deal for how people negotiate. GOV.UK states that the right to make a request exists from the first day of employment. An employee does not have to build up a period of service before asking.
That has two practical consequences. First, someone who is considering a new role can think about flexibility as part of the decision, knowing that a formal route will exist once they start. Second, an employer cannot lawfully dismiss the idea of a request simply because the person is new.
None of this means that an early request is always wise. A request made in the first week, before a manager has seen how the role works, may be harder to assess than one made with some track record behind it. That is a judgement about tactics, not law. The law allows the request; the question of timing is for the individual. The questions worth weighing before a move are covered in what employees should consider before changing jobs.
How should an employer handle a request?
GOV.UK says employers must deal with requests in a “reasonable manner”. It gives examples of what that can look like:
- Assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the request.
- Discussing possible alternatives with the employee.
- Offering an appeal process.
Those three steps form a useful checklist, and each deserves a little unpacking.
Assessing advantages and disadvantages means a genuine weighing exercise. A manager who rejects a request in a single line, without any sign of having considered how the work could be organised, is unlikely to meet the standard. The benefits to the employee are part of the picture, but so are possible benefits to the business, such as retention or wider hiring appeal, and the real operational costs.
Discussing alternatives is often where the best outcomes are found. A request for four days a week might not suit a team that needs cover on Fridays, but a different four-day pattern, or a trial period, might. Employers that treat the initial request as a starting point rather than a yes-or-no question tend to find a workable middle ground more often.
Offering an appeal gives the employee a second look at the decision, ideally from someone who was not involved the first time round. It also protects the employer by showing that the process was fair.
Both GOV.UK and Acas point to the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working. Acas describes the code as setting out the minimum standards an employer should follow for statutory flexible working requests. Employers and employees who want the detail on process and timing should read the code itself rather than rely on summaries.
Can an employer say no?
Yes. GOV.UK says an employer can refuse a request if they have a good business reason. The right is a right to a fair process, not a guarantee of an outcome.
The phrase “good business reason” does not mean any reason at all. It implies that the employer should be able to explain what the problem is, and that the explanation should be about the business rather than about preference or habit. A refusal that rests on a vague sense that “we prefer people in the office” sits uneasily with an obligation to assess the pros and cons and discuss alternatives. A refusal that points to a concrete difficulty, such as a service that must be staffed at specific times or a role that depends on in-person contact with customers, is more likely to be understood as a reasoned decision.
Employers should also remember that the law looks at how the request was handled, not just the result. An employer that follows a careful process and reaches a refusal is in a stronger position than one that makes the same decision in a hurry.
What happens if the process goes wrong?
GOV.UK says that an employee whose employer does not handle a request reasonably can take the employer to an employment tribunal. That is the formal backstop, and it is the reason the process matters.
Tribunals are rarely the first resort and are not a quick or comfortable route for most people. In practice, many disagreements are resolved earlier through an internal conversation, the appeal stage, or informal advice. Acas operates a helpline for individual circumstances, and its guidance suggests that employers and employees should try to resolve problems directly where possible.
The point for employers is straightforward. A written record showing that a request was considered, that alternatives were discussed and that an appeal was offered is the best evidence of reasonable handling. The point for employees is equally plain. If a request has been brushed aside without discussion, it is worth asking in writing how it was assessed, and checking the Acas code against what happened.
Why does this matter in a hybrid London economy?
Flexible working is no longer a niche subject. London’s employers have spent several years renegotiating the balance between office and home, and the employment relationship has become more individual as a result. The commercial side of that shift, including its effect on floorspace and demand, is covered in how London’s office market is adapting to hybrid work.
For employees, the statutory right provides a baseline that sits underneath any company policy. A firm may have a generous hybrid policy, a strict attendance expectation or no written policy at all. In each case, the legal right to make a statutory application remains, along with the employer’s duty to handle it reasonably.
For employers, the practical lesson is consistency. Where managers decide requests one by one with no shared approach, similar requests can end up with different outcomes, which is both a fairness problem and a source of resentment. A short, written approach to assessing requests, using the three steps GOV.UK lists as a framework, reduces that risk.
It is also worth noting that skills and hiring pressures sit behind many of these conversations. Employers competing for people with in-demand abilities often find flexibility is part of the offer, a theme that runs through the skills London employers are looking for.
A worked example of a sensible request
The following is an illustrative scenario, not a real case. An employee in a London professional services firm wants to work four longer days rather than five standard ones, to reduce commuting.
A well-prepared request would set out the proposed pattern, the day that would be dropped, and how client and colleague contact would be covered on that day. It would acknowledge the likely concerns, such as cover for meetings, and suggest ways of handling them. It might also propose a trial period and a review.
A well-handled response would assess the proposal against the team’s needs, discuss whether a different day off would work better, and give reasons if any part is refused. If the employee remained unhappy, an appeal would be available.
Neither side in that example needs to win outright. The statutory framework rewards the side that engages with the practical detail.
A right to ask, and a duty to answer fairly
The law on flexible working is short on guarantees and long on process. Employees can ask from day one, can request changes to hours, days, times or place of work, and are entitled to have the request handled in a reasonable manner. Employers can say no, but only for a good business reason, and the way they reach the decision is what a tribunal would examine.
For London workers weighing up commuting costs, hybrid expectations and the wider job market, that makes preparation the most useful tool. A request that is specific, realistic and mindful of the employer’s constraints is likelier to get a constructive hearing. For employers, a documented and consistent approach is both fairer and safer.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Employment rules change and differ in Northern Ireland, so check current GOV.UK and Acas guidance for your own circumstances.
Sources: GOV.UK; Acas
