Your Rights as a Flexible Worker

​Ever since 2003, it is officially legal to work flexibly. And as of 2014, it is legal for anyone to request. This is called making a statutory application.
 
The only factor to be eligible for an application is to have worked at that company for at least 26 weeks.
 
To begin the application process, you must first be certain of your choice, and asses both ups and downs of flexible working so that you're certain of your decision. This is then followed by a meeting about the application with the employer and once all is settled, you can then offer an appeal. This application must simply contain the date, must be in writing and must state whether the employee has applied to the employer previously. For a sample of the employee request form, click here.

​As for the employer, they have the right to reject any request as long as they have a sound business motive to do so. However, the decision needs to be made within the first three months once the request is filed.
 
Since June 2014, everyone has had the right to apply, so you have the option to decide whether flexible working is for you. If you believe your employer might allow it, then you’re a few steps away from having your own flexible schedule and work freedom.
 
If you’re interested in making a request but still need some persuasion, you can read our list of benefits concerning flexible working.

However, if you're an employer, you should be aware that requests need to be considered in a reasonable manner and they can only be refused for a particular list of reasons. These include:​​
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• The burden of additional costs
• An inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff
• An inability to recruit additional staff
• A detrimental impact on quality
• A detrimental impact on performance
• A detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand
• Insufficient work for the periods the employee proposes to work
• A planned structural change to the business

Any cons of flexible working might involve loss of organisation, as it requires a lot of determination and professionalism to organise your time and your days correctly. Allowing yourself the time to work somewhere other than the office can be difficult to manage at first. However, this is a con that can easily be mended. You can certainly develop your organisational skills until you don’t have any issues at all with prompting yourself to work.
 
If you want to read more on your rights and the small print behind the right to request flexible working, you can read ACAS’ page on flexible working.