The Government is committed to helping working parents. From 6 April 2003, parents of children aged under six or of disabled children aged under 18 will have the right to apply to work flexibly. Employers will have a statutory duty to consider their applications seriously.

At the same time, the Government will be increasing and extending maternity leave and pay and introducing new rights to paid adoption and paternity leave. These new rights, together with existing rights to parental leave and time off for dependants, will provide parents with more opportunities than ever before to balance work and family life, whilst being compatible with, and beneficial to, business efficiency.

This document provides basic information on the new right to apply for flexible working. It does not attempt to describe the detail, and should not be taken as an authoritative statement of the law.

This new right will enable mothers and fathers to request to work flexibly. It will not provide an automatic right to work flexibly as there will always be circumstances when the employer is unable to accommodate the employees desired work pattern. The right is designed to meet the needs of both parents and employers, especially small employers.

It aims to facilitate discussion and encourage both the employee and the employer to consider flexible working patterns and to find a solution that suits them both. The employee has a responsibility to think carefully about their desired working pattern when making an application, and the employer is required to follow a specific procedure to ensure requests are considered seriously.

Eligibility

In order to make a request under the new right an individual will:

• be an employee
  
• have a child under six, or under 18 in the case of a disabled child
  
• have worked with their employer continuously for 26 weeks at the date the application is made
  
• make the application no later than two weeks before the childs sixth birthday or 18th birthday in the case of a disabled child
  
• have or expect to have responsibility for the childs upbringing
  
• be making the application to enable them to care for the child
  
• not be an agency worker
  
• not be a member of the armed forces
  
• not have made another application to work flexibly under the right during the past 12 months.

Scope of a request

• Eligible employees will be able to request:
  
• a change to the hours they work
  
• a change to the times when they are required to work
  
• to work from home.

Applications for a change in working pattern will not always require a significant alteration. For example, a parent may simply wish to start work half an hour later to take their child to school and make up the time later in the day.

The procedure

In summary, the procedure will be as follows:

• The initial onus will be on the employee to make a considered application in writing. They will be able to make only one application a year under the right, and an accepted application will mean a permanent change to the employees own terms and conditions of employment. It will be important therefore that, before making an application, the employee gives careful consideration to which working pattern will help them best care for their child; any financial implications it might have on them in cases where the desired working pattern will involve a drop in salary; and any effects it will have on their employers business and how these might be accommodated.
  

• Within 28 days the employer will arrange to meet with the employee. This will provide the employer and the employee with the opportunity to explore the desired work pattern in depth, and to discuss how best it might be accommodated. It will also provide an opportunity to consider other alternative working patterns should there be problems in accommodating the desired work pattern outlined in the employees application. The employee will, if they so wish, be able to bring a companion to the meeting.

• Within 14 days after the date of the meeting the employer will write to the employee to either agree to a new work pattern and a start date; or to provide a clear business ground(s) as to why the application cannot be accepted and the reasons why the ground(s) applies in the circumstances. The procedure will also provide for occasions when the employer will want to take further action before notifying the employee with their final decision.

The procedure provides an employee with the right to appeal their employers decision within 14 days of it being notified to them. The appeal process is designed to be in keeping with the overall aim of the right of encouraging both parties to reach a satisfactory outcome at the workplace.

In a minority of cases some employees will have grounds to pursue their request with third party involvement. This may be by referring their request to ACAS, to an employment tribunal, or by using another form of dispute resolution. An employee will only be able to take their claim to an employment tribunal in specific circumstances. In such cases, the employer will have to demonstrate to the tribunal that they have followed the procedure correctly.

The new law providing parents of young or disabled children with the right to request a flexible working pattern will be in addition to, and will apply completely independently from, other legislation such as sex, disability, or race legislation.