We're taking this opportunity to remind you of the changes introduced by the Employment Rights (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which came into effect on April 6th in the UK. If you haven't already taken action to ensure compliance, it is crucial that you do so immediately to avoid potential legal consequences.
The new legislation grants employees the right to request flexible working arrangements from their first day of employment, and employers must provide a detailed explanation if they choose to reject such requests. The response time for these requests has also been reduced to two months, and employees can now make two statutory requests within 12 months.
In addition to the flexible working changes, two other significant pieces of legislation have come into force: The Carer's Leave Act 2023 and The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023.
If you haven't done so already, you need to review your current policies and procedures to ensure they align with these new regulations.
This article in People Management gives employers some guidelines and advice on how businesses and HR should prepare for the new flexible working laws.