5 things employers should do when they receive a flexible working request
From April this year, the right to make a flexible working request became a day one right for all employees. Employers should have a clear policy in place, setting out how flexible working requests should be made and how they will be dealt with by the business. Here are 5 things employers should do on receipt of a flexible working request:
- Make sure that the request has been made in writing so that a clear paper trail exists. Valid requests should include the following details: the date; state that it is a request made under the statutory procedure; specify the change that the employee is seeking and when they wish the change to take effect; and state whether the employee has previously made an application to the employer and, if so, when.
- Check that the employee has not made more than two requests in the last 12 months.
- Make a diary note of the time limit for the business needing to deal with the request. Employers have two months from the date of request to respond, including holding any appeal.
- Check at an early stage whether the impetus behind the request might be a disability. Be mindful that the duty to make reasonable adjustments will apply and a different procedure might need to be adopted. In particular, the request should be granted if it is reasonable and would remove any substantial disadvantage the employee is facing in the workplace. You should not just apply the eight grounds for refusal which apply to flexible working requests.
- Make sure there are no current valid requests from the employee. Only one live application can be considered at any one time.