If one of your employees requests to change their working hours, do you have to agree?

Certain employees have a statutory right to ask to change their working hours.

However, it is important to note that this right is a right to request flexible working and not a right to have it on demand.

This right is available to male or female employees who are the parent, guardian, adoptive parent or foster parent of a child under the age of 17 (under the age of 18 if the child is disabled), or they care for a dependant adult. The employee must have 26 weeks continuous service with you, and the request must be made in order that the employee may undertake their care activities.

There is no legal right for employees to be granted flexible working, however, employers are required to consider any such request and explain their reasons if they refuse.

If a request is received, then within 28 days you must either accept the change or arrange a meeting with the employee to discuss the application. The employee has the right to bring a fellow employee to this meeting. Within 14 days of the meeting you must then give your decision in writing.

You can refuse the request but only if it satisfies one or more of the following criteria; the burden of additional costs, a detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand, an inability to reorganise work among existing staff, the inability to recruit additional staff, a detrimental impact on quality or performance, insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work or planned structural changes.