Changes to flexible working requests

Employees in Britain will be able to request flexible working from day one of their employment, under new government plans to make flexible working the default.

Flexible working doesn’t just mean a combination of working from home and in the office – it can mean employees making use of job-sharing, flexitime, and working compressed, annualised, or staggered hours.

Workers on contracts with a guaranteed weekly income on or below the Lower Earnings Limit will also be protected from enforced exclusivity clauses, which restrict workers from having multiple employers.

The new legislation, backed in the government’s response to the Making flexible working the default consultation, will also remove the requirement for employees to set out the effects of their flexible working requests to employers.

See: Millions of Britons to be able to request flexible working on day one of employment – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)