A flexible working request lands in your inbox: a valued team member wants compressed hours, or a hybrid pattern, or a later start to handle school drop-off. You have a business to run, clients to serve, and a small team where one person's absence is visible. What you do in the next two months is governed by statute — and the employers who get it wrong rarely do so out of malice. They get it wrong because they treat a legal process as an informal chat.

The legal frame in 2026

Since 6 April 2024, the right to request flexible working has been a day-one right — employees no longer need 26 weeks' service. That change came from the Employment Rights (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which together also introduced these rules:

• Employees may make two requests in any 12-month period (previously one).
• You must make a decision — including any appeal — within two months of the request, unless you agree an extension with the employee.
• You must consult the employee before refusing a request; an outright refusal without discussion is a procedural breach.
• Employees no longer have to explain in their application what effect the change would have on the business.

The underlying right sits in sections 80F–80I of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and the ACAS Code of Practice on requests for flexible working sets out what a reasonable procedure looks like. Tribunals take that Code seriously, and an unreasonable failure to follow it can be taken into account.

On top of this, the Employment Rights Act reforms strengthen the regime further: a refusal will need to be reasonable as well as based on a statutory ground, with the employer expected to explain why the refusal is reasonable. Check the current commencement position on GOV.UK before relying on the detail — but assume the direction is towards more scrutiny of refusals, not less.

The eight statutory grounds for refusal

You can only refuse a request on one or more of these grounds (section 80G):

1. Burden of additional costs
2. Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
3. Inability to reorganise work among existing staff
4. Inability to recruit additional staff
5. Detrimental impact on quality
6. Detrimental impact on performance
7. Insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work
8. Planned structural changes

Two things follow. First, "we prefer people in the office" or "it sets a precedent" are not grounds. Second, the ground must be real: if you claim inability to recruit, a tribunal may ask what recruitment you attempted. The test is not that your reason is perfect, but that it is genuine and evidenced.

A fair process, step by step

Step 1 — Acknowledge and diarise. Confirm receipt in writing and diarise the two-month deadline immediately. If the request is straightforward and you intend to agree it, you can shorten the process — but confirm the agreed variation in writing with its effective date.

Step 2 — Meet the employee. Hold a consultation meeting without unreasonable delay. Let the employee be accompanied. Explore the request properly: what pattern exactly, when to start, and how the employee thinks the work can be covered. Their answers often solve problems you assumed were insoluble.

Step 3 — Assess genuinely, not defensively. Map the request against the work: which tasks, which hours, which handovers. Cost the options. Consider modifications — a different pattern, a trial period, a phased start. Many refusals collapse under scrutiny because the employer never examined a middle option.

Step 4 — Decide and write it up. If agreeing: confirm the new arrangement, whether it is permanent or a trial, and any review date. If refusing: state the specific statutory ground(s), explain the facts behind them, and offer an appeal. ACAS recommends offering an appeal even though it is not strictly mandatory — it is cheap insurance against a procedural complaint.

Step 5 — Watch the wider risks. Flexible working disputes are rarely just about the statutory procedure. A refused request from a returning parent can become an indirect sex discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010, where the compensation ceiling is far higher than the statutory flexible working penalty. A request linked to a disability may be a reasonable adjustments duty, which is a separate obligation that overrides the statutory grounds analysis. Before refusing, ask: who is asking, and why? If the request touches childcare, disability, religion or health, take advice before answering.

Template: flexible working decision record

Keep a one-page record for every request:

Flexible working request — decision record
Employee / role:
Date request received:                    Two-month deadline:
Date of consultation meeting:             Accompanied by:
Request summary (pattern, start date):
Business assessment (work affected, costs, cover options considered):
Alternatives discussed with employee:
Decision:  Agreed / Agreed with modifications / Refused
Statutory ground(s) if refused (from the eight):
Facts supporting the ground(s):
Reasonableness explanation (why refusal is justified on these facts):
Trial / review arrangements:
Appeal offered (date / deadline):
Decision communicated in writing on:

Request-handling checklist

• □ Request acknowledged in writing on receipt
• □ Two-month statutory deadline diarised
• □ Consultation meeting held before any refusal, with accompaniment offered
• □ Request mapped against actual work, not assumptions
• □ Modifications and trial options genuinely considered
• □ Decision tied to one or more of the eight statutory grounds
• □ Written decision with facts, reasoning and appeal route
• □ Discrimination and reasonable-adjustments angles checked before refusal
• □ Variation to contract confirmed in writing if agreed
• □ Record kept on file with dates and evidence

The practical takeaway

Flexible working is no longer a perk you grant when convenient; it is a structured statutory right with a short clock and a growing compliance burden. Small employers who build a simple, documented process find most requests can be accommodated in some form — and the ones that genuinely cannot are far easier to refuse defensibly.

If you are facing a request you are unsure how to answer, or want a request-handling procedure your managers can follow without you, book a discovery call with The People Powered at start a conversation with The People Powered.

This article is general guidance for employers, not legal advice on a specific case.