Question 1

How does a flexible working request work?

Accepted Answer

In the UK, flexible working is a **statutory request process** with defined steps and a limited set of grounds for refusal — not simply asking a manager nicely, though it frequently starts that way.

**What counts as flexible working.** Any change to **when, where or how much** you work: part-time hours, compressed hours, flexitime, annualised hours, job sharing, term-time working, staggered hours, and homeworking or hybrid arrangements.

**Who can request.** Following reforms that took effect in April 2024, the right to request became a **day one right** in Great Britain, removing the previous qualifying service period. Employees may make **two requests in any twelve-month period**.

**The process:**

**You make a request in writing**, stating that it is a statutory request, what change you want and when you want it to start.

**The employer must consult with you** before refusing — a requirement added in the 2024 reforms.

**They must decide within two months**, including any appeal, unless a longer period is agreed.

**The grounds for refusal are prescribed.** An employer can only refuse for one or more of eight statutory business reasons — including burden of additional costs, detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand, inability to reorganise work among existing staff or recruit additional staff, detrimental impact on quality or performance, insufficiency of work during the periods proposed, and planned structural changes.

**What the right does and does not give you:**

**It is a right to request and to have the request handled properly** — not a right to the arrangement. An employer applying a valid ground and following the process can lawfully refuse.

**An accepted request is a permanent contractual change** unless you agree otherwise, so requesting a trial period explicitly is worth doing.

**Separate routes may be stronger** where the request relates to a disability — **reasonable adjustments** are a different legal duty — or where refusal would be indirect discrimination, for example against those with caring responsibilities.

General information, not legal advice.

Question 2

What are your rights to breaks and maximum working hours?

Accepted Answer

Working time rules set limits on how long you can be required to work and what rest you must receive — and the entitlements are more specific, and in places more limited, than people assume. The

Question 3

What is a reasonable adjustment at work?

Accepted Answer

A change an employer must make to remove a substantial disadvantage faced by a disabled worker — and it is a legal duty, not a discretionary accommodation, which is the distinction that matters most.

Question 4

What is IR35, and who does it affect?

Accepted Answer

IR35 — formally the off-payroll working rules — is UK tax legislation addressing people who work through their own company but who, stripped of that company, would look like employees of the client.

Question 5

What is a zero-hours contract and what rights come with it?

Accepted Answer

A zero-hours contract is an arrangement with no guaranteed minimum hours. The employer offers work when available; how much obligation exists on either side depends on the contract's terms. The two

Question 6

What is a probation period and what rights do you have during it?

Accepted Answer

A probation period is a contractual arrangement at the start of a job, during which both sides assess whether it works. It is a contractual concept, not a legal status — which is the point most

Question 7

How does an employment tribunal claim work?

Accepted Answer

A specialist tribunal hearing claims about employment rights — less formal than a court, with its own procedure, and governed by very short time limits that end more claims than any argument about

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