1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168 
rompommui " A • ' A • . 1! 1" • . ! 8 I 1
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Employees must have worked continuously for a firm for 26 weeks and must not have made a previous application for flexible working in the previous 12 months.
• Employees have the rights to apply to work flexibly, but can have their applicator refused in writing when there is a clear business reason for doing so. They can take a colleague to a hearing to discuss the application, they can appeal against the decision and also take their case to an employment tribunal in certain circumstances.
• Employers have the obligation to consider requests properly and to refuse the request only on business grounds. These grounds can include the request involving extra cost, the inability of the company to meet customer demand, and the fact that the request will have a detrimental effect on quality.
• The employee must make a request well in advance of when they want to work flexibly, and the employer must convene a meeting within 28 days of the request. The employer must give its decision in writing, within 14 days of the hearing and then the employee has a further 14 days in which to appeal and must be told of the appeal decision within 14 days.
BERR publishes a guide on how to deal witieduests for flexible working. See www.berr.gov. uldemploymentiemployment-legislation/employment-guidance/page35662.html