Changes to statutory flexible working request rules

Implementation date: 6 April 2024

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023, provides for changes to the rules on statutory flexible working requests, including allowing employees to make two requests in a 12-month period and reducing the time within which the employer must notify the employee of its decision to two months. It is expected that these changes will come into effect on 6 April 2024. The Government has published the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 (Commencement) Regulations 2024, which bring these changes into effect on 6 April 2024. 

On 11 December 2023, the Government published the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 amending the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 to allow an employee to make a flexible working request from the first day of employment (currently an employee requires 26 weeks' employment). These Regulations will also come into effect on 6 April 2024.