Good news for workers who want flexible hours in the UK

Acas has opened a consultation on tougher flexible working rules after a YouGov poll found 78% of British employees value flexibility.

The workplace body published a draft update to its statutory Code of Practice on requests for flexible working on 1 October, reflecting changes in the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Under the new law, an employer can refuse a flexible working request only where it is reasonable to do so for one or more of the existing statutory business reasons.

Employers will also have to explain why they consider a refusal reasonable, and follow mandatory consultation steps with the employee unless they accept the request in full.

The government will set out those consultation steps in regulations, and Acas expects the changes to take effect in autumn 2027.

Employees already have a day-one right to request changes to their hours, times or place of work, including part-time working, hybrid working, flexitime, compressed hours and job sharing.

Employers must currently decide on a request, including any appeal, within two months.

YouGov polled 1,020 employees in Great Britain for Acas between 30 April and 6 May 2026.

Of those, 45% said flexible working was very important in a job and 33% said it was fairly important.

Another 13% said it was not very important, 7% said it was not at all important and 2% did not know.

“Our poll reveals that flexible working continues to be a popular requirement for employees in a job,” said Maggie Jones, chair of Acas.

“Acas’s updated Code will help employers and employees understand the new law, reach fair and effective decisions and prevent disputes,” Jones added.

The draft Code asks employers to reach decisions using four principles:

• Basing decisions on evidence
• Adapting where possible to enable a request
• Working together with the employee to find solutions
• Acting transparently and consistently

Acas said employers should apply these principles according to their size, resources and operational needs, and the Code does not prescribe the same outcome for every workplace.

The draft also covers requests that may involve reasonable adjustments for disabled employees under the Equality Act 2010, and situations where several staff in one team ask for overlapping arrangements.

Flexible working disputes currently make up less than 1% of the early conciliation notifications and employment tribunal claims that Acas receives.

“Next year, we’re helping more workers fit their job around everyday life, providing more protections that mean if flexible working suits them and their employer, they are free to do so without fear of a reasonable request being turned down,” said Kate Dearden, Minister for the Future of Work.

Flexible working consultancy Timewise welcomed the draft Code.

“Our work shows that even shift-based and site-based roles have more room for flexibility than employers often realise,” said Clare McNeil, CEO of Timewise.

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