The government has announced tougher flexible working request rules that will force employers to sit down with staff and properly explain any refusal, a move billed as putting power back into the hands of workers.
Louise Haigh set out the proposals at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Brighton. Under the changes, businesses will need to demonstrate they have genuinely considered a worker’s request before turning it down. A brief, off-hand rejection will no longer be enough.
What the new flexible working request rules actually mean
Haigh was direct on the detail. ‘If an employer wants to turn down a request, they will have to sit down with their employee, properly consider and explain why,’ she said. She acknowledged that ‘not every job can be done from home and not every request can be agreed’, but made clear that each request ‘can be taken seriously’.
The human reality behind those requests was front and centre in her address. ‘Life isn’t always as neat as employers would like it to be,’ she said. ‘There’s kids to pick up. Parents to look after. Families who rely on us at short notice. And sometimes, a little bit of flexibility can make all the difference.’
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, backed the move without reservation. He described flexible working as not ‘just a perk, it’s a lifeline’, adding: ‘That’s why this move is a welcome step forward. It makes it harder for employers to turn down requests while giving workers a stronger voice in the process.’
Haigh also made the business case: ‘Improving access to flexible working benefits workers, businesses and the economy, whether it’s through increasing staff productivity or higher retention.’
When the changes kick in and what the law already says
The new obligations form part of the Employment Rights Act and are due to take effect in 2027, according to The Intelligent. That gives employers and HR teams a defined window to update their processes before the rules bite.
The groundwork was already being laid well before this announcement. Flexible working became a day-one right for all employees on 6 April 2024, meaning workers no longer need to clock up 26 weeks’ service before making a request, according to Remote Work Europe. A further update followed: from 6 April 2026, employers are required to respond within two months rather than the previous three. The new announcement builds on both of those changes, adding the requirement for a face-to-face explanation when a request is refused.
Current regulations already give all employees the statutory right to request flexible arrangements covering their hours or location, with decisions to be handled in a ‘reasonable manner’. The 2027 changes will sharpen what ‘reasonable manner’ actually means in practice.
Part of a wider push on workers’ rights
Haigh, described by the government as effectively the deputy Prime Minister, framed the flexible working changes as one element of a broader programme. She told union leaders that the Employment Rights Act represented the ‘biggest uplift’ in workers’ rights in a generation.
The wider package includes sick pay from day one, limits on fire-and-rehire practices, improved protections for parents, and stronger safeguards against unfair dismissal. The government is also targeting what Haigh called ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts, which she said currently give ’employers all the flexibility’ while leaving workers with ‘all the insecurity’.
For anyone in work around the Northeast who has tried to juggle shift patterns, school runs or caring responsibilities alongside a job, the 2027 implementation date is the one to mark on the calendar.