Flexible Working as a Day 1 Right: What is happening

The government announced their intention to introduce the right to request flexible working from day 1 for all employees. But what does that actually mean and how will it affect the recruitment industry?

What is changing?

Under the current rules, employees have to work for a minimum of 6 months before they have a statutory right to request flexible working under the Flexible Working Regulations 2014. The government has now confirmed their intention to remove the 6 month qualifying period meaning employees will be able to request flexible working as soon as they begin employment.

The change was originally planned to be introduced through a new flexible working bill, but this bill has now been withdrawn, and the government plans to introduce these changes through secondary legislation. This will mean the current regulations are amended to remove reference to the 6 month period.

Why is the government doing this?

With ongoing labour shortages, as highlighted in our Overcoming Shortages report, the government is taking action to encourage those inactive in the labour market to return to work. Without flexible working, many people may instead choose to not work at all with the 6 month waiting period before they could request flexible working acting as a barrier to them returning to work.

What are the potential issues with Day 1 flexible working?

Businesses will obviously need to adapt to the new flexible working rules. Additional requests from staff may make it harder for businesses to plan their workforce capacity. Businesses will need to account for the potential for day one flexible working during their hiring processes to ensure they are not caught out by requests.

It is important to note that this is still only a right to request, and businesses still will be able to reject requests where it is appropriate to do so. Rejecting a request for flexible working under the changed rules will require consultation with the employee who made the request, so businesses will need to prepare for these processes as well.

As the government publishes more guidance and information about exactly how this process needs to be structured REC will share this with our members.

What does this mean for temporary workers?

Under the current proposals, temporary workers engaged on a contract for services are outside of the scope of right as they are not classed as employees. BEIS recognise that agency workers on this type of contract are inherently flexible and therefore did not need to be included.

Where this may cause an issue for temporary workers is if they are engaged via an umbrella company. Many umbrella companies engage their temporary workers on contracts of employment, bringing the workers back within scope of the right to request flexible working. Umbrella companies, as well as the recruiters who engage them, and potential clients, need to be aware that their workers may be able to request flexible working and will need to respond to these requests accordingly.

REC will continue to work with BEIS to make sure the legislation is clear about how this situation should be handled.