TL;DR
- A flexible working arrangement is any change to when, where or how an employee works: job sharing, remote or home working, hybrid working, part time, compressed hours, flexitime, annualised hours, staggered hours and phased retirement.
- In England, Scotland and Wales every employee can make a statutory request from their first day, up to twice in 12 months. Employers must handle it reasonably, discuss it before refusing, decide within two months and refuse only for one of eight business reasons.
- Flexibility works when it is designed around the job, written down, reviewed after a trial and managed on outcomes. Acas notes that some flexibility can be built into almost all jobs.
Ask ten people what flexible working means and you will get ten answers. For one it is finishing at three to collect the children. For another it is two days at home. For a third it is a four-day week, a job share or a later retirement on fewer hours. All of them are right. Flexibility is not one arrangement but a family of them.
This article explains what flexible working arrangements are, describes the nine types that the UK government lists, sets out the statutory request process that applies in Great Britain, gives the reasons an employer may refuse, and offers practical advice for managers who want flexibility to work for the team as well as the individual.
A flexible working request is a form, a conversation, a decision and a contract change. See how New Dynamics workflows let you shape forms, stages and approvals around the way you work.
What is a flexible working arrangement?
GOV.UK's guide to flexible working defines it simply: “Flexible working is a way of working that suits an employee's needs, for example having flexible start and finish times, or working from home.” Acas, the UK's advisory service, puts it in three words in its guide to implementing flexible working: “Flexible working involves making a change to when, where or how an employee works.”
The Cambridge Dictionary's entry for flexible working is narrower, and reflects everyday usage: “a situation in which an employer allows people to choose the times that they work so that they can do other things, for example spend time with their children”.
Put together, an arrangement is flexible if it changes at least one of three things.
- When someone works: their hours, start and finish times, or the days of the week.
- Where someone works: at home, at another site, or a mix.
- How much someone works: part-time hours, a job share or a phased reduction.
An arrangement can be formal, written into the contract after a statutory request, or informal, agreed between a manager and an employee. Acas notes that employees and employers can agree flexible working arrangements without the statutory procedure.
The nine types of flexible working
GOV.UK's page on types of flexible working lists nine.
| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| Job sharing | “Two people do one job and split the hours.” |
| Remote working and working from home | Working from anywhere other than the usual workplace, including home |
| Hybrid working | “A combination of working remotely and working in the employee's usual workplace.” |
| Part time | Working less than full-time hours, usually by working fewer days |
| Compressed hours | Full-time hours over fewer days, such as a nine-day fortnight |
| Flexitime | The employee chooses start and finish times within agreed limits, but works core hours, for example 10am to 4pm |
| Annualised hours | A set number of hours over the year, with flexibility about when they are worked |
| Staggered hours | Different start, finish and break times from other workers |
| Phased retirement | Older workers reduce their hours and work part time as they approach retirement |
Two of these deserve a note. Flexible working hours is the everyday name for flexitime and staggered hours: the job and the total hours stay the same, and only the timing changes. It is often the easiest form to agree. And compressed hours are what many people mean by a four-day week; our article on the benefits of a four-day week explains the difference between compressed hours and a genuine reduction.
The right to request: how it works in Great Britain
The statutory scheme applies in England, Scotland and Wales. GOV.UK notes that flexible working rules are different in Northern Ireland, and the law differs in other countries. What follows summarises government guidance as published; it is general information, not legal advice, and the rules can change, so check GOV.UK before you act.
Who can ask, and for what
“All employees have the legal right to request flexible working.” Employees can ask for a change to the number of hours they work, when they start or finish, the days they work or where they work. They can apply “from their first day in a job”, and can make two applications in any 12-month period.
How to apply
GOV.UK's page on applying for flexible working says the employee should email or write to the employer. The application must include the date, a statement that it is a statutory request for flexible working, details of how the employee wants to work flexibly and when they want to start, and whether they have made a previous application, with its date. Acas publishes a request template; employers may ask employees to use a standard form.
What the employer must do
Employers “must deal with requests in a ‘reasonable manner’”. GOV.UK's examples are assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the application, discussing possible alternatives and offering an appeal process. The employer must discuss the request with the employee before refusing it, and must decide within two months of the request, or longer if the employee agrees. If the request is agreed, the employer should confirm the changes and start date in writing and change the contract, no later than 28 days after approval. If it is refused, the employer must give the business reasons. An employee who thinks the request was not handled reasonably may be able to complain to an employment tribunal.
The Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working sets the minimum standards, and GOV.UK directs employers to it.
The eight reasons for refusal
GOV.UK's page on what happens after the application lists the only reasons an employer can give for refusing.
- Extra costs that will damage the business.
- The work cannot be reorganised among other staff.
- People cannot be recruited to do the work.
- Flexible working will affect quality.
- Flexible working will affect performance.
- The business will not be able to meet customer demand.
- There is a lack of work to do during the proposed working times.
- The business is planning changes to the workforce.
A refusal should explain which reason applies and why, in terms of the actual job. A vague “it would not work for the team” is not one of the eight.
Why employers offer flexible working
Acas's guide lists the benefits it sees for employers: flexibility can help them attract and keep staff, recruit for jobs that are hard to fill, improve diversity and inclusivity, have staff available at different times and reduce sickness and stress absences. For employees, it can help them balance work with other parts of their life and improve health and wellbeing.
The guide makes a further point that managers sometimes doubt: “Some form of flexibility can be built into almost all jobs, regardless of an organisation's size or sector.” A nurse cannot work from home, but can work staggered or compressed shifts. A receptionist cannot job share the desk at the same moment, but two people can share the week. The question is rarely whether flexibility is possible, but which kind.
Our articles on the benefits of working from home and on work-life integration look at the case in more detail.
Making a flexible working arrangement work
Agreeing an arrangement is the easy part. Keeping it working for the employee, the team and the customer takes some design.
- Start from the job. List what the role must deliver, when it must be available and to whom. Design the arrangement around those fixed points, not around habit.
- Write it down. Hours, days, location, core hours, how availability will be shown and how the arrangement will be reviewed. Acas recommends a flexible working policy so that managers handle requests consistently.
- Agree a trial. Three months with a review date lets both sides test assumptions. Say in advance what a successful trial looks like.
- Manage on outcomes, not presence. Set clear goals and check progress in regular one-to-ones. Our guide to performance goals shows how to make them measurable. See also our remote work guide for managing people you do not see every day.
- Protect the team. Publish who works when, so colleagues and customers know what to expect. Watch for the pattern where the flexible worker's tasks quietly land on whoever is in the office.
- Keep it fair. Track who asks and who is refused. If one group is always refused, ask why. Decisions that fall more heavily on people with caring responsibilities or disabilities raise discrimination risk.
- Review and adjust. Circumstances change. An arrangement agreed for a child's nursery years may need revisiting at school age, and a business's needs shift too.
Common mistakes
Treating hybrid as the only kind. Two days at home helps office workers. It offers nothing to the shift worker who needs a later start.
Saying yes without a design. An arrangement that lives in one manager's head breaks when the manager leaves.
Saying no by reflex. Refusals must rest on one of the eight business reasons, and the employee must be heard first.
Forgetting the contract. An agreed statutory request changes terms and conditions, and the paperwork should follow within 28 days.
Measuring hours instead of work. If you cannot say what a good week's output looks like, presence becomes the proxy, and flexibility fails.
Frequently asked questions
What is a flexible working arrangement?
A flexible working arrangement is any agreed change to when, where or how much an employee works. Common examples are part-time hours, flexitime, compressed hours, hybrid or remote working, job sharing, staggered hours, annualised hours and phased retirement.
What are flexible working hours?
Flexible working hours means the job and the total hours stay the same but the timing changes. Under flexitime the employee chooses start and finish times within agreed limits and works set core hours. Under staggered hours the employee has different start, finish and break times from colleagues.
Who can request flexible working in the UK?
In England, Scotland and Wales, all employees have the legal right to make a statutory request from their first day in a job, and can make two requests in any 12-month period. Northern Ireland has different rules.
How long does an employer have to respond to a flexible working request?
GOV.UK says the employer must make a decision within two months of the request, or longer if agreed with the employee, and must discuss the request with the employee before refusing it.
Can an employer refuse a flexible working request?
Yes, but only for one of eight business reasons listed in the legislation, such as extra costs that will damage the business, an inability to reorganise the work among other staff or an effect on quality or performance. The employer must explain the refusal and should offer an appeal.
Does flexible working have to be formal?
No. Employees and employers can agree arrangements informally without the statutory procedure. A statutory request gives the employee legal protection and, if agreed, changes the contract. Either way, writing the arrangement down avoids misunderstandings later.
Your next step: check three things this week
- Find your flexible working policy. If there is none, Acas publishes an example policy template.
- Look at the last three requests your organisation received. Were they answered within two months, and did any refusal cite one of the eight reasons?
- Pick one role where flexibility is said to be impossible, and list which of the nine types could still apply.
For managing people you do not see every day, read and download our remote work guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.
Want flexible working requests, approvals and one-to-ones handled in one place? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current policy. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.
