Seven in 10 employees are unaware that they will soon have the right to request flexible working from their first day in a job, an Acas survey has revealed.
A YouGov poll involving 1,000 workers for the conciliation service, conducted shortly after the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 received Royal Assent, found that 70% were unaware that they would be given the right to make a flexible working request as soon as they start a new job.
Currently, an individual must have been employed by an organisation for 26 weeks before they can make a flexible working request.
The new right will take effect on 6 April 2024, along with several other family-friendly regulations including the right to unpaid carer’s leave for those with long-term care responsibilities, and enhanced redundancy protections for those who are pregnant or taking maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave.
Additional law reforms on flexible working, including the right to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period and the requirement for employers to respond to a request within two months, are expected to come in at the same time.
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Acas chief executive Susan Clews said: “There has been a substantial shift in flexible working globally, which has allowed more people to better balance their working lives and employers have also benefitted from being an attractive place to work.
“It is important for bosses and staff to be prepared for new changes to the law around the right to request flexible working, which will be coming into force next year.
“Acas has just consulted on a new draft code of practice, which strengthens good practice on flexible working and addresses important upcoming changes to the law. The final new code will be published next year.”
Employers will still be able to refuse a flexible working request on eight grounds, ranging from cost to the proposed working arrangement’s impact on the ability to meet customer demand.
James Townsend, employment partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach said: “The legislation effectively only encourages more discussion about the possibility of flexible working rather than requiring employers to adopt flexibility within their workforce.
“Employees that were hoping for a statutory right to work flexibly may be disappointed and employers will continue to be able to make reasonable operational decisions as to the extent to which they wish to offer flexibility to their workforce, within the framework of the legislation.”
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