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If you have received a flexible working request, this model guide sets out an effective, legal framwork to follow when handling it, and determining your response.
Introduction
Managing flexible working applications is crucial for fostering a supportive and productive work environment.
This guide outlines the process for handling flexible working applications in accordance with UK employment legislation and best practice processes. It includes sections on managing both temporary and permanent changes.
1. Understanding Flexible Working Applications
Flexible working can include changes to working hours, patterns, or locations.
Employees in the UK have the legal right to request flexible working from day one of employment, provided they have not made more than one flexible working request in the last 12 months. In Northern Ireland, employees must have 26 weeks of continuous service before making a request and can only make one request per year.
2. The Application Process
Step 1: Submission of Request
Employees must submit a formal written request.
The request should include the desired change and the proposed start date.
Step 2: Acknowledgment
Acknowledge receipt of the request in writing within 7 days.
Outline the process and timeline for consideration.
Step 3: Meeting
Unless you agree to the employee's written request in full, you must consult the employee before you make a decision.
Allow the employee to be accompanied by a colleague or union representative if they wish.
Step 4: Consideration
Assess the request based on business needs, potential benefits, and potential challenges.
Consider the impact on workload, team dynamics, and overall operational effectiveness.
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For more value, this is also found in our Full library and Flexible and hybrid working templates toolkit
This Managers guide to handling a flexible working request aims to offer you a versatile and customisable tool, serving as a solid foundation for your needs. Utilise it to ensure consistency, enhance accuracy, and save valuable time.
Adapt it to suit your unique requirements, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in your HR processes.
Yes. This template has been designed for organisations of all sizes, including small businesses, charities and growing employers. It follows UK employment law best practice and can be adapted to suit your organisation.
Our templates are developed with UK employment legislation, Acas guidance and HR best practice in mind and are reviewed and updated as relevant requirements change. However, every employment situation is different, so the template should be adapted to the circumstances and checked against the employee's contract and your organisation's procedures before use.
Yes, we highlight the areas of the document that you need to update with your own details, and where you need to make decisions to suit your situation. This saves you time and ensures that you meet best practice.
Yes. Once purchased, you'll be able to download it instantly. Templates are provided in editable format (such as .doc or .xls) so you can customise them easily, and in PDF format for easy sharing.
If you're looking for broader support, we also offer toolkits and library bundles that include the Managers guide to handling a flexible working request, along with other HR templates and policies for fully managing your situation. These may be more cost-effective if you need deeper advice.
AI can produce a document quickly, but effective HR documentation needs to be more than well-written words. It needs to reflect relevant UK employment law, HR best practice, practical considerations and the circumstances in which it will be used. These resources have been professionally developed around that wider HR context, drawing on extensive practical experience, rather than simply generating a generic document from a prompt.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles. He has extensive practical experience of managing flexible and hybrid working and appeal processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
"Darryl has proven himself to be reliable, professional and conscientious. He provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"Darryl is someone I trust; he is consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly. I have confidence in him and no hesitation in recommending him."
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