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The government has now responded to the consultation on improving access to flexible working, confirming that there will be a new mandatory process for employers to follow if they are considering refusing a request. The changes are intended to take effect in autumn 2027.

As we explored in more detail here, the key changes to the flexible working framework introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 are:

• the requirement that an employer may only refuse a request if it's reasonable to do so;
• the requirement that employers state the ground for refusal and explain why they consider it reasonable to refuse the request on that ground; and
• the power to introduce regulations to set out the steps which an employer must take before refusing a request for flexible working.

Earlier this year, the government consulted on what steps an employer must take before refusing a request for flexible working. After receiving 1,016 responses and holding stakeholder roundtables, the government has now published its response.

There will be a new mandatory statutory process that employers must follow if they are considering refusing a flexible working request and this will come into force in autumn 2027, alongside the new reasonableness test.

What will the new process look like?

The final wording of the overarching objective for the consultation meeting for employers and employees to work towards is as follows:

Employers must hold a meeting before rejecting a flexible working request to:

1. ...

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