Andy Burnham's government has announced plans to strengthen protections for employees who want to work from home, prompting workers to examine their legal rights around remote and flexible working.
Earlier this week, First Secretary of State Louise Haigh told the annual Trade Union Congress (TUC) that the government would make it harder for employers to block staff from working from home. The move aims to bring "power back into the hands of working people" by requiring businesses to demonstrate they "properly" weigh up a worker's request before rejecting it.
What did Louise Haigh say?
Ms Haigh said: "That is what putting power back into the hands of working people looks like. Life isn't always as neat as employers would like it to be. There's kids to pick up. Parents to look after."
She added: "Families who rely on us at short notice. And sometimes, a little bit of flexibility can make all the difference."
Ms Haigh acknowledged that "not every job can be done from home and not every request can be agreed", but stressed that each request "can be taken seriously". She said: "If an employer wants to turn down a request, they will have to sit down with their employee, properly consider and explain why."
TUC response
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said flexible working was not "just a perk – it's a lifeline".
He added: "That's why this move is a welcome step forward. It makes it harder for employers to turn down requests while giving workers a stronger voice in the process. Improving access to flexible working benefits workers, businesses and the economy – whether it's through increasing staff productivity or higher retention."
What are your legal rights?
Under existing UK employment rules, employees have a statutory right to request flexible working from day one on the job. People can make up to two statutory requests in any 12-month period, which must be responded to and completed within two months of the request being made.
Having the right to request remote work is not an automatic right to receive it – an employer can reject a request based on eight statutory business grounds, including impact on performance, inability to reorganise work, or customer demand.
According to ACAS, employees can also agree flexible working arrangements informally without using the statutory procedure. This includes informally asking for a change, or if a company has a separate process for requests.
People who have a disability can also ask to work from home. By law (Equality Act 2010), employers have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. People asking to work from home because of a disability can do so by making a flexible working request or a reasonable adjustment request.
To find out about home and hybrid working in your organisation, talk to your manager, employer or HR department.
