Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

CountdownFlexible working

Flexible working countdown: 4 – What are the business grounds on which a request can be rejected?

by Kikuyu Thompson 24 Jun 2014
by Kikuyu Thompson 24 Jun 2014

Continuing our countdown of the new rules and important changes to the procedure for dealing with flexible working applications, we look at the business grounds on which a request can be rejected.

Flexible working changes: key XpertHR resources

  • Letter informing employees of how the employer will deal with requests for flexible working made on or after 30 June 2014
  • Letter refusing a request for flexible working

If an employer decides to reject an employee’s request to work flexibly, it must do so for one of the following business reasons:

  • the burden of additional costs;
  • an inability to reorganise work among existing staff;
  • an inability to recruit additional staff;
  • a detrimental impact on quality;
  • a detrimental impact on performance;
  • a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand;
  • insufficient work for the periods the employee proposes to work; and
  • a planned structural change to the business.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The line manager must not reject a request for any other reason.

For example, an employee works in a call centre between 8am and 4pm. She has submitted a request to work between 10am and 6pm to avoid peak-time traffic. The employer has discussed the request with the employee. However, it does not feel able accommodate the employee’s proposal as the hours that they currently work are when the company receives the most calls from its customers, and seeing as the company is already short-staffed, it does not feel that it can cope with a reduction in staff working at the time that the employee works. The employer can reject the request on the basis that the change in the employee’s working time would have a detrimental effect on the company’s ability to meet customer demand. It could also reject the application if, because of a shortage in staff, it would be unable to reorganise the employee’s work.

Kikuyu Thompson

Kikuyu Thompson wrote for XpertHR .

previous post
How to avoid discrimination claims with flexible working requests
next post
Occupational hygiene: protecting the health of workers

You may also like

Workers ‘wait and see’ as companies struggle to...

16 May 2025

Four ways employers can reduce the risk of...

14 May 2025

Senior execs at BlackRock to work in office...

8 May 2025

Post-pandemic starters seek more pay for on-site working

10 Apr 2025

Fifth of flexible working requests denied one year...

7 Apr 2025

Employers struggling to manage rising levels of sickness...

7 Apr 2025

Remote working isn’t bad – it just needs...

1 Apr 2025

Hybrid workers less sick and less stressed

28 Mar 2025

Dog owners more likely to want to work...

24 Mar 2025

Finland’s workplaces the key to top spot in...

20 Mar 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+