Flexible working is to become the “default” for all workers, with employers required to say yes to requests from staff from their first day starting in a job unless they can prove it is “unreasonable”.
The government defines flexible working as a way of working “that suits an employee’s needs”, for example, having flexible start and finish times, or working from home.
Employees can already request flexible working from their first day in a job, but an employer can refuse an application if they have a good business reason for doing so.
It is unclear if there will be a big shift from current rules and there appear to be many reasons available to employers to refuse flexible working in the new bill.
The grounds against granting requests include:, external
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Burden of additional costs
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Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
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Inability to re-organise work among existing staff
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Inability to recruit additional staff
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Detrimental impact on quality
