The REC has submitted it’s response to the Government’s consultation on making flexible working the default that was opened earlier this year.

The government's proposals, as set out in the consultation, build on previous flexible working legislation. In 2003, legislation came into force which provided parents and certain other carers with a right to request a flexible working arrangement, which covered work location, working hours and working pattern. In 2014, the right to request a flexible working arrangement was extended to all employees with 26 weeks continuous service. These proposals would now make the right to request flexible working a day one right for all employees, and considers the mechanisms around how a request should be responded to as well.

The REC is supportive of the benefits of flexible working in helping people into work, and allowing for a more diverse workforce, and in many cases a more productive workforce. However, the desire to boost flexible working in the UK needs to be balanced against the needs of employers to operate in an effective and well-prepared manner.

Our responses to the consultation questions raised by the government are available in the attached document.