Here’s the key thing: under the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, employees now have a day one right to request flexible working. And as employers, you’re legally required to give the request proper and reasonable consideration. That doesn’t mean you have to say yes – but it does mean you need a solid business reason to say no.
Let’s be really clear on what DOESN’T count as a solid reason:
• “We don’t want to set a precedent” – not valid. You can’t say no just because you’re worried others might ask too. Each request has to be considered individually. You can grant one person the flexibility and reject others, which is potentially justifiable.
• “Nobody gets special hours/ shifts/ days/ set-working pattern” – Also not valid, they have the right to ask, and you need to have a very good reason to say no (and this is not a very good reason)
• “It’s not fair on the rest of the team” – also not a good enough reason. The law doesn’t allow decisions based on what’s easiest or feels most equal – it has to be about business impact.
• “It doesn’t fit with our culture” – again, that’s vague and not enough. You need to show how the request would cause a problem, not just that it doesn’t align with a general ethos.
• “We tried remote working during Covid and it didn’t work” – Covid was five years ago, so that’s not going to cut it either, unless you have current, role-specific evidence that this exact request would lead to a decline in performance, customer service or communication.
• Cost of equipment – unless the cost is genuinely unreasonable or prohibitive, this won’t fly either.
Basically, none of those are legally acceptable reasons for refusing a request. They are reasons for “we don’t want to” – but under the current law, that’s not enough.
You can say no, but only for one of the eight statutory business reasons.
1. It would cost the business too much
Cost on its own isn’t enough of a reason to say no—but if, after looking at the options, it turns out that agreeing to the request would create unavoidable and significant additional costs (such as agency fees or a big hike in overtime), this could be a fair reason not to go ahead. But you’d be expected to show why the cost can’t be absorbed or offset elsewhere.
2. You can’t shuffle the work around
If the role is highly specialised and you’ve genuinely tried to spread the workload among the team—with no success—then this might be a justifiable reason to refuse. But “we just don’t usually do it like that” isn’t enough; the key here is whether it’s practically possible to reorganise the work, not whether it’s convenient.
3. You can’t recruit to fill the gap
In some situations—like needing cover for a very short or awkward time slot—it might be genuinely impractical to recruit someone to fill the gap. That said, it’s worth being creative before saying no. Could shifts be rejigged? Could someone take on a bit extra? Refusal on these grounds should always be a last resort.
4. It would knock the quality of the service
If a change in hours would directly and demonstrably impact the quality of what customers or clients receive—say, if a key person is unavailable for a significant chunk of time and the team can’t realistically cover—this might be a valid reason to refuse. But you’d need to show how and why the quality would dip, not just assume it.
5. It would affect the person’s performance
If the new working pattern would make it difficult for the person to do their job properly—perhaps because they’d be missing too many key meetings or their role relies heavily on teamwork—then that’s a factor. But again, it’s important to explore workarounds first: could the role evolve slightly? Could others flex too?
6. You’d struggle to meet customer demand
This is about whether the business can still meet its peak demand. For example, if you’re in hospitality and weekends are critical, but someone wants to work only weekdays, that could be a problem. But you’d need to show that their presence during busier times is essential, not just preferable.
7. There’s not enough work during the hours requested
If someone wants to work at times when business is very quiet and there simply isn’t meaningful work to be done, that could be a legitimate reason to say no. But again, be sure the workload has been reviewed properly—and that there’s not a different way of structuring things to make it work.
8. There are planned structural changes to the business
If there’s a major restructure, redundancy process or relocation underway, and that would make the requested pattern unworkable, this could justify a refusal. But timing is everything here: if the change is speculative or some way off, you should still consider whether a temporary arrangement could work.
Remember – you have to be able to PROVE whichever of these rejection reasons you choose – not just say it won’t work.
This is why we often recommend offering a trial period – like a 3- or 6-month trial – with clear expectations and review points. If the arrangement genuinely doesn’t work, you’ll then have a much stronger legal footing to say no.
So the big takeaway: flexible working isn’t optional anymore – it’s a legal right, and as employers, we need to approach requests with the mindset of “how could we make this work?” rather than “why we don’t want to.”
