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Browse frequently asked questions and answers on key HR issues. Navigate by topic or key word search. View latest additions or suggest a question to the XpertHR editorial team.
Do employees have the automatic right to change to a more flexible working pattern? Which employees are eligible for the statutory right to request flexible working? Do the flexible working request provisions apply in relation to employees with adult dependants? Can an employer safely ignore a request for a flexible pattern of working made by an employee who does not qualify for the statutory right to request flexible working? How should an employer respond to a request for flexible working? How should employers deal with requests for flexible working that are not made under the flexible working provisions, for example where an employee fails to follow the prescribed procedure or is ineligible to make a request? Is an employee who is requesting flexible working required to provide proof of his or her parental/caring responsibilities? What information should an employee's request for flexible working under the statutory procedure contain? What should an employer do if an employee who has already submitted a statutory flexible working request subsequently seeks to amend the request? If an employer does not consider an employee's flexible working application under the statutory procedure because it is incomplete, is the employee barred from submitting another request for 12 months? Where a statutory application for flexible working is acceptable as it stands, is the employer obliged to arrange a meeting to discuss the request? If the person who would normally deal with a statutory request for flexible working is off work, does this affect the procedure that the employer is required to follow? Does an employee have the right to be accompanied at a meeting to discuss a statutory request for flexible working? What happens if the chosen companion is not available at the time proposed for a meeting to discuss a statutory request for flexible working? What redress is available if an employer fails to permit an employee to be accompanied at a meeting to discuss a statutory request for flexible working? What is the companion's role at a meeting to discuss a statutory request for flexible working? Is a worker entitled to be paid for time off work to accompany an employee to a meeting to discuss a statutory request for flexible working? How should the employer respond if an employee fails to attend a meeting to discuss a statutory request for flexible working? If an employer has previously accepted requests for flexible working from female employees, and receives a request from a male employee that it does not want to accommodate, what are the risks of refusing that request? Can an employer use a trial period to test whether or not a proposed flexible working arrangement would work?