While this change in legislation to allow UK staff to have the right to flexible working from day one is welcome, it is important to stress that it does not automatically give staff the right to work from home; rather that they can make a formal request. Businesses can still refuse this where it impacts on quality or performance or where there may be additional costs for instance.
Ultimately, many employers have adapted to flexible work arrangements so it won’t pose any issue whilst for other businesses, particularly for smaller businesses where there are tighter margins and overheads to control, it may not be feasible. However, in such cases, they will be able to justify denying that request.
There are concerns it seems about employees raising this issue but increasingly employers are aware of the benefit of flexible work and are using this actively in the recruitment process anyway. That way, it is hoped that there won’t be a need to make requests, as in a post pandemic era, it is actively encouraged by many businesses who can reasonably offer this benefit in any event.
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