Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023

Regulations confirm the removal of the 26-week service requirement from 6 April 2024

From April 2024, the 26-week service requirement needed to make a flexible working request will be removed. 

The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 was approved by parliament and this confirms that any requests made from 6 April 2024 do not need any service requirement. This will be your employees right from day one of employment.

Altogether, five changes to the current system are to be made. The Government appears to be dealing with the changes in two (or more) batches. The service requirement has now been dealt with in legislation but further regulations are needed to bring in the other four. These are:

• Reduction of the current reasonable timeline to deal with requests from three months to two months
• Removal of requirement for employee to set out the impact of their requested arrangements
• Introduction of the requirement for employers to consult with an employee before refusing a request
• Increase in the number of statutory requests permitted per 12 months from one to two

We can expect that the other four changes will align with the removal of the service requirement and come into force on 6 April 2024 but this is yet to be confirmed.

Need further advice?

If you need more information or would like assistance with a particular HR issue or how you can improve your employee engagement, speak to a Croner expert today at 0800 124 4179.