On 15 September 2026 the Government published its Response on improving access to flexible working. The consultation was launched on 5 February 2026.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) will introduce a new process that employers must follow before refusing a flexible working request. ERA 2025 will also introduce a new reasonableness test for refusals.
These changes are expected to take effect in Autumn 2027 (we don’t have a specific date yet) and will be implemented through regulations that are yet to be made.
Following the consultation, the Government has modified its original proposals.
In outline the new proposals are:
- Before refusing a request, the employer will have to hold a meeting with the employee. The objective of the meeting will explicitly stipulate that the employer must undertake the meeting “with the view to reaching an agreement with the employee”.
- The employer will be required to give fair and reasonable notice of the meeting, rather than a fixed period of notice.
- The employee must be informed about the “purpose” of the meeting in advance, instead of the “context”.
- The decision-maker will not be required to attend the meeting, in light of concerns about feasibility in larger organisations where multiple stakeholders are involved or the decision-maker handles a large number of requests.
- The employer will not be required to clarify at the meeting if the employee wishes the request to be treated as a request for reasonable adjustments on account of disability, as that would risk conflating two separate workplace rights.
- The employer must provide written notification of both the outcome of the meeting and the final decision, although where an arrangement is agreed at the meeting, a single communication will satisfy both requirements.
The government decided against:
- requiring express exploration of trial reviews.
- requiring review periods or time-limited arrangements in the meeting.
- imposing a statutory right to be accompanied or a right of appeal.
The Government recognises the need for additional practical guidance for both employers and employees, focused on specific groups of individuals or sectors. Acas will consult on a draft update to the statutory Code of Practice on requests for flexible working (previously published on 6 April 2024). This is expected to be laid before Parliament in early summer 2027. Acas will also publish detailed guidance on the reasonableness test by the end of 2026. We will of course keep you updated.
