New Ways to Work- By law

Are you ready for the:-

Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 has completed its passage through Parliament and now awaits Royal Assent from the King. There are several things it changes about the current flexible working regime and several things that it does not.

The changes:-

Employees will now be able to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period.
Requests have to be dealt-with by employers within 2 months of receipt of a request if no extension is agreed.
Employers are not able to refuse a request until they have ‘consulted’ with the employee (although there is no legislative de minimis requirement of what that ‘consultation’ needs to include).
Employees will no longer, in their application, have to explain what effect the employee thinks agreeing to the request would have and how any such effect might be dealt with.

The following will NOT change

It doesn’t make flexible working a ‘Day 1 right’. Employees still need to have 26 week’s service before they are able to make a request. The Government has indicated that it will create Day 1 employment rights through secondary legislation – although none has appeared as yet. The issue is not covered in the Act.
It doesn’t require employers to offer a right of appeal if a flexible working request is rejected. The offer of a right of appeal is recommended in the ACAS Code of Practice on Flexible Working. These changes have not made it a requirement of the process.
There is no requirement that consultation with the employee is substantive or covers the options available. Indeed, there is no minimum standard of consultation set out at all.

QED Training Courses on Employment and Equality Laws cover all existing rights and responsibilities for employers and employees as well as breaking news on other topics. In 2024 for example, we expect new developments with:-

Sexual Harassment Preventative Duty
Data Protection
Privacy Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR)

More breaking news and a free resource:-

Hate Crimes Increase- New Free Manual

New figures reveal that even more thousands of people in Britain are affected by hate crime. Nobody should have to live with the fear and anxiety that this crime causes. It can also affect other people in your community, especially if they are seen to be part of the same group in society. As well as the emotional and physical harm, you may suffer serious financial losses. At its most extreme, you may be made homeless, forced to leave an area or made to feel so unsafe that you choose to move away. Other costs you might have to bear include the cost of repairing damage, dealing with graffiti, replacing possessions and increasing home and personal security. You may or may not have insurance to cover these – even if you do, there might be costs associated with a no-claims bonus or a policy excess. You may also have to pay for the cost of travelling to medical appointments or court, or

simply to protect yourself from further attacks by taking taxis, rather than public transport.