Flexible Working Requests in 2026: The Day-One Right, the 2-Month Deadline and the Coming Reasonableness Test

A flexible working request can land on a small business owner's desk at any time: a new starter asking for school-hours shifts, a returner from maternity leave asking for a four-day week, or a manager asking to work from home two days a week. Since April 2024 employees can ask from their first day, and the law on how you must respond is about to tighten. This guide explains, for UK employers in 2026, who can make a statutory request, what it must contain, the two-month deadline, how to consult and decide, the eight reasons you can rely on to refuse, what happens at a tribunal, and how the Employment Rights Act 2025's reasonableness test, now expected in autumn 2027, will change things.

Quick answer

Every employee in Great Britain can make a statutory flexible working request from day one. They can make 2 requests in any 12 months, and you must decide within 2 months, including any appeal. You must consult them before refusing and can only refuse for one of eight business reasons. From autumn 2027, the Employment Rights Act 2025 will add a test that refusal must also be reasonable, with set consultation steps.

• Change can cover hours, times, days or place of work, including hybrid and home working

• No need for the employee to explain how the change would affect the business

• Agreed changes go into the written terms within 28 days

• Tribunal award for procedural breaches: up to £6,008

• Acas is consulting on a new Code until 17 December 2026

What counts as flexible working

Flexible working is any change to how many hours someone works, when they work, which days they work, or where they work. GOV.UK lists the common types: part-time hours, compressed hours (full-time hours over fewer days, such as a nine-day fortnight), flexitime around core hours, staggered start and finish times, annualised hours, job sharing, remote working, hybrid working and phased retirement.

The statutory procedure is one route to agreeing such a change, but not the only one. Acas points out that an employee can also ask informally, for example for a short-term change while a relative is ill, or after using up their two statutory requests for the year. Informal agreements don't have to follow the statutory process or the Acas Code. The trade-off is that the employee doesn't get the statutory protections that come with a formal request, and you can't count an informal ask towards their two-request limit. If the request relates to a disability, it may also be a request for a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010, which carries a separate and stronger duty. Acas suggests checking at the outset which route the employee wants to use.

Who can make a statutory request

The statutory right belongs to employees. Since 6 April 2024, when the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and accompanying regulations took effect, there's no qualifying period: an employee can make a request on their first day. Before then, they needed 26 weeks' continuous service.

Acas notes that agency workers, casual workers and people on zero-hours contracts are usually not employees, so they don't have the statutory right to request. They can still ask informally. Our agency workers guide covers that relationship. Parents and carers don't have any extra or separate right: Acas says employers should handle all requests in the same way, whatever the reason behind them.

These rules apply in England, Scotland and Wales. GOV.UK says flexible working rules are different in Northern Ireland, so check nidirect if you have staff there.

What a valid request must contain

A statutory request must be in writing, by letter or email, and GOV.UK says it must include:

• the date of the request;
• a statement that it is a statutory request for flexible working;
• the change the employee wants and when they'd like it to start;
• whether they've made a previous statutory request, and if so, when.

Since April 2024 the employee no longer has to explain how the change might affect the business or how it could be handled. That's now your job during consultation. You can ask staff to use a standard form, and Acas publishes a free request template.

Two requests in any 12 months

An employee can make 2 statutory requests in any 12-month period, looking back from the date of the new request. Acas adds that only one request can be live with the same employer at a time: a request stays live until you make a decision, the employee withdraws it, or you agree an outcome. A decided or withdrawn request still counts as one of the two.

For example, if an employee made requests on 15 January 2026 and 20 August 2026, they can't make a third statutory request until 15 January 2027. They could still raise the idea informally, and many employers will talk it through anyway, but the statutory clock and protections won't apply until the 12 months have passed.

The two-month deadline

From the day you receive a request, you have 2 months to make a decision and tell the employee, including any appeal. That's the point many managers miss: if you offer an appeal, it has to be heard and decided inside the same two months. You can extend the period only with the employee's agreement, and Acas advises confirming any extension in writing.

If you haven't decided by the deadline and there's no agreed extension, the employee can bring a tribunal claim. If they miss two meetings about the request without a good reason, you can treat the request as withdrawn, but you must tell them you're doing so.

A flexible working request, start to finish

Day 0

Written statutory request received (note the date)

As soon as you can

Arrange a consultation meeting, unless you're agreeing in full

After the meeting

Written decision: agree, agree in part, offer an alternative, or refuse with a statutory reason

If refused

Offer an appeal, heard by someone not involved before

2 months after receipt

Final decision, including any appeal, unless the employee agrees to extend

Within 28 days of agreeing

Update the employee's written terms and conditions

Consulting the employee

You don't need a meeting if you're going to agree to the request in full. Otherwise, the law requires you to consult the employee before refusing. Acas's guidance and Code set out what good consultation looks like:

• arrange a meeting as soon as you can, giving reasonable notice and saying what you want to discuss;
• have someone with authority to decide run the meeting;
• hold it in person or by video, or by phone if neither is possible;
• allow the employee to bring a colleague or trade union representative if they ask reasonably (there's no legal right to a companion, but Acas says you should agree);
• listen to the reason for the request, its likely effect on the business, any benefits, and any business reason that might stop you agreeing;
• discuss alternatives, such as accepting part of the request or a trial period;
• check whether the request relates to a disability and might be a reasonable adjustment;
• keep a written record of what was discussed.

A trial is often the most useful tool for a small business. If you're unsure whether a four-day week or two home-working days will work for your customers, agree a three-month trial with a review date, write it down, and assess it against the concerns you raised. Make clear whether the change is temporary or a permanent contract variation.

The eight reasons you can rely on to refuse

You can refuse a statutory request only for one or more of the eight business reasons set out in law and listed on GOV.UK:

1. the burden of additional costs that would damage the business;
2. an inability to reorganise work among existing staff;
3. an inability to recruit additional staff;
4. a detrimental impact on quality;
5. a detrimental impact on performance;
6. a detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand;
7. insufficient work during the periods the employee proposes to work;
8. planned structural changes to the business.

The reason must be genuine and based on correct facts. A tribunal can find against you if the refusal relied on incorrect facts, for example claiming the role needs someone on site every day when the employee's predecessor worked remotely. Explain the reason in your decision letter in plain terms that relate to the actual job, not a general statement of policy.

Handling a request: now vs from autumn 2027

	Now (since 6 April 2024)	Expected from autumn 2027
Who can ask	Employees from day one	No change announced
Requests per year	2 in any 12 months	No change announced
Decision deadline	2 months, including appeal	No change announced
Grounds to refuse	One of 8 statutory business reasons	One of 8 reasons AND refusal must be reasonable
Before refusing	Must consult (Acas Code)	Mandatory meeting steps set in regulations
Explaining refusal	State the business reason	Explain why refusing is reasonable

Who can ask

Now (since 6 April 2024)

Employees from day one

Expected from autumn 2027

No change announced

Requests per year

Now (since 6 April 2024)

2 in any 12 months

Expected from autumn 2027

No change announced

Decision deadline

Now (since 6 April 2024)

2 months, including appeal

Expected from autumn 2027

No change announced

Grounds to refuse

Now (since 6 April 2024)

One of 8 statutory business reasons

Expected from autumn 2027

One of 8 reasons AND refusal must be reasonable

Before refusing

Now (since 6 April 2024)

Must consult (Acas Code)

Expected from autumn 2027

Mandatory meeting steps set in regulations

Explaining refusal

Now (since 6 April 2024)

State the business reason

Expected from autumn 2027

Explain why refusing is reasonable

The Employment Rights Act 2025: what changes and when

The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens the framework in two ways. First, it introduces a reasonableness test: you'll be able to refuse a statutory request only where it is reasonable to do so for one or more of the eight business reasons, and you'll have to explain why you consider the refusal reasonable. Second, it gives ministers power to set mandatory consultation steps that employers must follow before refusing.

On commencement, the picture has firmed up. The Department for Business and Trade's implementation timeline lists flexible working among measures for 2027. Its response to the consultation on improving access to flexible working, published on 15 September 2026, says the government intends both the reasonableness test and the new consultation process to take effect in autumn 2027. Acas published a draft updated Code of Practice for consultation on 1 October 2026, closing on 17 December 2026, and expects the new Code to come into force at the same time as the law. Until then, Acas says employers should keep following the current 2024 Code.

The government response also sketches what the mandatory meeting will look like. It must be held "with a view to reaching an agreement". You'll have to tell the employee the purpose of the meeting in advance and give fair notice. The discussion must cover the original request first, then any alternatives, and you must explain any challenges by reference to the business reasons and record the outcome. The government decided not to make it a legal requirement for a decision-maker to attend, though it expects one to be present in most cases. These details will only be final when the regulations are made, so treat them as the direction of travel.

Acas's draft Code builds the new approach on four principles: decisions based on evidence, adapting where possible, working together on solutions, and acting transparently and consistently. It also recognises that what's reasonable depends on the employer's size and resources, which matters for small firms.

Worked examples

1. The deadline. A bakery receives a statutory request on 12 October 2026 from a counter assistant who wants to finish at 2.30pm for school pick-ups. The owner must decide, including any appeal, by 12 December 2026 unless the employee agrees to extend. If she refuses on 30 November and the employee appeals, the appeal must also be decided by 12 December. The owner should hold the first meeting in October to leave room.

2. A four-day week: the cost. Mark earns £32,500 a year for five days and asks to work four days for £26,000. Holiday adjusts too: statutory entitlement of 5.6 weeks becomes 22.4 days on a four-day week instead of 28. Employer National Insurance falls, at 15% above the £5,000 secondary threshold, from £4,125 to £3,150 a year, a saving of £975. The real business question is who covers the fifth day. If the work can be reorganised among existing staff or covered by a part-time hire, refusing on cost grounds will be hard to justify, particularly once the reasonableness test arrives.

3. A refusal that holds up. A three-person IT support firm guarantees on-site response within two hours. An engineer asks to work fully from home. The owner meets her, explains the on-site guarantee, and offers two home days a week on a three-month trial. She accepts. Had she refused the alternative, the owner could have relied on "detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand", backed by the contract terms. That's the kind of evidence-based refusal the draft Code describes.

4. The compensation cap. A manager earning £900 a week has a request refused without any consultation. A tribunal can award compensation it considers just and equitable, up to 8 weeks' pay. Because a week's pay is capped at £751, the maximum is £6,008, not 8 × £900 = £7,200. The bigger risk would be a linked claim, for example indirect sex discrimination if a mother's request for reduced hours was refused without good reason, where compensation isn't capped.

Tribunal claims and protection from detriment

GOV.UK lists the grounds on which an employee can take a flexible working complaint to an employment tribunal: you didn't handle the request in a reasonable manner, you wrongly treated it as withdrawn, you refused it based on incorrect facts, or you dismissed them or treated them badly because of the request. An employee can't win a claim just because the request was refused. Since 1 October 2026, the time limit for most tribunal claims has been 6 months rather than three.

Employees are protected from detriment and dismissal for making, planning or pursuing a request. Acas gives examples of detriment: bullying or harassment, refusing training without good reason, being passed over for promotion, or having hours cut. Dismissal for making a request is automatically unfair, regardless of service.

The bigger exposure is often discrimination. A blanket rule that all roles must be full time and office based can put women, carers and disabled people at a particular disadvantage. If you can't objectively justify it, that's indirect discrimination, with uncapped compensation. Acas reports that flexible working disputes make up less than 1% of the claims it sees, but the ones that do go wrong tend to involve discrimination.

Flexible working request checklist

0/9

• Request dated, in writing and marked as statutory; previous requests checked
• Two-month deadline diarised, leaving time for any appeal
• Disability or reasonable adjustment angle checked at the start
• Meeting arranged with notice; companion allowed if reasonably requested
• Partial agreement, alternatives and a trial period discussed
• Any refusal tied to one of the 8 business reasons, with job-specific facts
• Appeal offered and heard by someone not previously involved
• Agreed changes put into written terms within 28 days
• Policy reviewed for the autumn 2027 reasonableness test and new Acas Code

Share Print

After you agree a request

When you agree a change, write to the employee with the agreed new arrangement and the start date. GOV.UK says the employee's contract should be updated as soon as possible and no later than 28 days after the request was approved, and Acas reminds employers that changed terms must be confirmed in writing within one month. A statutory flexible working change is normally permanent unless you agree a trial or time limit, so the employee would need to make a new request, or you'd need to agree a further change, to switch back.

Recalculate anything that depends on hours: pay, pension contributions, holiday, and any pro-rata benefits. Our holiday entitlement guide shows how to recalculate leave for part-time and compressed patterns, and the employment contract guide explains what the written statement must contain. If several staff ask for the same days off, Acas's draft Code includes new guidance on handling multiple requests. Consider each on its merits and be consistent.

Common mistakes

Letting the two months run out. A refusal letter in month three, or an appeal heard after the deadline, is a breach in itself. Diary the date on the day the request arrives.

Refusing without consulting. Since April 2024 you must consult before refusing. A refusal sent the same day by email, with no meeting, is the kind of conduct tribunals and the new rules target.

Quoting a reason that isn't true. "We can't recruit" when you haven't tried, or "customers need you in the office" when the work is all by phone, won't survive scrutiny.

Treating carers' or parents' requests differently. All statutory requests follow the same process. Many come from employees returning from maternity leave or paternity leave, and that's exactly where discrimination risk is highest.

Forgetting the paperwork. An agreed change that never makes it into the written terms causes disputes later about whether it was a trial or permanent.

Official links

• Flexible workingGOV.UK: types, applying, decisions, refusal reasons, tribunals
• Acas: statutory flexible working requestsStep-by-step guidance and templates
• Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible workingCurrent Code, in force since 6 April 2024
• Acas consultation on the draft updated CodeCloses 17 December 2026
• Government response: improving access to flexible workingReasonableness test and meeting process, autumn 2027

What to do next

Check your flexible working policy against the current Acas Code now: day-one eligibility, two requests a year, a two-month deadline that includes appeals, and consultation before any refusal. Then plan for autumn 2027: train whoever handles requests to gather evidence, consider alternatives and record why a refusal is reasonable. If a request involves a change in hours, the hourly rate calculator helps you compare the cost of patterns, and the salary slip generator shows the new pro-rata pay.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

Can employees request flexible working from day one?

Yes. Since 6 April 2024, every employee in Great Britain can make a statutory flexible working request from their first day in the job, with no qualifying period. Workers who aren't employees, such as most agency and casual staff, don't have the statutory right but can still ask informally. Northern Ireland has its own rules.

How many flexible working requests can an employee make in a year?

Up to 2 statutory requests in any 12-month period, counted back from the date of the new request. Acas says only one request can be 'live' at a time, until you decide it, the employee withdraws it or you agree an outcome. Informal requests outside the statutory procedure don't count towards the limit.

How long does an employer have to respond to a flexible working request?

The employer must make a decision, including any appeal, within 2 months of receiving the request, unless the employee agrees to extend it. Before refusing, the employer must consult the employee. If the employer misses the deadline without an agreed extension, the employee can complain to an employment tribunal.

What reasons can an employer give for refusing flexible working?

Only the eight statutory business reasons: extra costs that would damage the business, inability to reorganise work among existing staff, inability to recruit extra staff, a detrimental effect on quality, on performance, or on meeting customer demand, insufficient work during the periods the employee proposes to work, and planned structural changes. The reason must be genuine and based on correct facts.

What is the new reasonableness test for flexible working?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will let employers refuse a statutory request only where it is reasonable to do so for one or more of the eight business reasons, and they'll have to explain why the refusal is reasonable. Regulations will also set mandatory consultation steps. The government's September 2026 response says both changes are intended to take effect in autumn 2027.

How much compensation can a tribunal award for flexible working breaches?

Up to 8 weeks' pay, with a week's pay capped at £751 from 6 April 2026, so the maximum is £6,008. Separately, dismissing or penalising someone for making a request can lead to much larger unfair dismissal or detriment awards, and refusing a request can also feed into a discrimination claim.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Flexible working — GOV.UK · accessed 9 October 2026
2. 2.Statutory flexible working requests — Acas · accessed 9 October 2026
3. 3.Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working — Acas · accessed 9 October 2026
4. 4.Acas consultation: draft Code of Practice on requests for flexible working — Acas · accessed 9 October 2026
5. 5.Consultation on improving access to flexible working: government response — Department for Business and Trade · accessed 9 October 2026
6. 6.Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update — Department for Business and Trade · accessed 9 October 2026
7. 7.Key payments and limits table 2026/27 — DWF (law firm) · accessed 9 October 2026