The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1328) were laid before Parliament on 11 December 2023 and come into force on 6 April 2024.
The regulations revoke regulation 3 of the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/1398), which requires an employee to have been continuously employed for a period of at least 26 weeks to be entitled to make a flexible working request. Therefore, no service will be required in order to make a flexible working request on or after 6 April 2024. The regulations apply to England, Scotland and Wales.
Additional changes to the right to request flexible working, include:-
- employees will be entitled to make two requests (instead of one) in any 12-month period and;
- employers will have to respond to a request within two months (reduced from three months).
The measures will be supported by an updated Acas statutory Code of Practice that will be published in January 2024.
Source: The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1328).
