All employees can as of June 2014 apply under the flexible working legislation for flexible working. Employees must have 26 weeks’ service. An application to work flexibly can cover: hours of work; times of work; place of work (as between home and place of business only); and must be taken seriously by the employer. Employees can make up to one written request every year, the employer needs to deal with it within three months, and can refuse on any of eight (very wide) business grounds. A tribunal cannot normally investigate the rights and wrongs of the refusal, only whether the procedure has been properly followed. Maximum compensation for a failure to comply is eight weeks’ pay (currently capped at £464 per week).
