Under what circumstances can my employer refuse my request for flexible working?

Your employer may only turn down a request for flexible working on one or more of the following ‘business’ reasons. These are: 

• burden of additional costs; 
• detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand; 
• inability to reorganise work among existing staff; 
• inability to recruit additional staff; 
• detrimental impact on quality; 
• detrimental impact on performance; 
• insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work; and 
• planned structural changes. 

If your employer plans to reject all or part of your request, they must consult with you first - the Acas Code of Practice sets out what consultation should look like. If your employer turns down your request, either initially or after an appeal hearing, they must set out their clear business reasons for doing so and explain how these reasons apply to your application. The reasons must appear in the list set out above. 

When making your request for flexible working, you should consider these reasons and make sure you address any issues that you think will arise. 

The employer's explanation is likely to be important to your case in any subsequent legal proceedings, whether under the statutory flexible working regime or other legal rights such as the right not to suffer indirect sex discrimination or the employer’s duty to make reasonable adjustments. The Acas Code of Practice (PDF) says that your employer’s response should be in writing. 

A tribunal will not normally second-guess an employer’s business reasons for rejecting a request, but they will expect to see the evidence the employer relied on to make their assessment.