New Flexible Working Law

The good news for many parents, particularly Mums, women and disabled people who are more likely to work part time, is the new Flexible Working Law has come into place. The new Flexible Working Law makes it easier for employees to ask for flexibility from day one of their employment.

What Is the New Flexible Working Law?

The New Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulation 2023, came into place on the 6th April 2024 for England, Wales and Scotland. It updates the Flexible Working Legislation 2014, where employees had to be employed continuously for 26 weeks to make a Flexible Working application.

Under the new law:

• You can submit a request from day one.
• Employees can now submit two requests every year.
• Employees don’t now need to explain or justify why they need the flexible working.
• Employers now have less time to respond and deal with the request- 2 months instead of 3 months.
• Employers must discuss with the employee before they decline.

Employers can still decline from the same reasons: cost implications, insufficient work during the period the employee wants to work, a negative effect on customers etc

What Difference the New Law Could Make?

The difference this could make to disabled people, carers and women could be huge. Let’s hope employers take advantage the right way. If they provide it, it gives them the competitive edge on other companies who don’t.

It increases the talent pool, helps make content/happy employees, who make better more productive workers. Also with diversity, equity and inclusion being a current topic, hopefully it will be something companies embrace. It will also enable companies to be further representative of society and their consumers.

What Can You Ask For?

These can include many things including the following: part-time working, home working, hybrid working, flexitime, job sharing, annualised hours, compressed hours, term-time working and team-based rostering.

You can read about it on the government website, here.

Who Does the New Flexible Working Law Help?

The New Flexible Working Law is for everyone. You don’t have to have a disability, illness or be a mother.

It can also help employers, as firstly employers who offer flexible working are seen as more attractive. Secondly, their employees will likely be more productive if it works for them.

With an ageing population and the pension age rising, will also enable people to be able to meet the demand of working longer.

Hannah x

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