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Leading regional law firm Roythornes has published a guide to sweeping changes which come in to force at the end of the month regarding flexible working.

The changes mean that from the end of the month any worker with 26 weeks or more continuous employment can request to work more flexibly, requesting such things as shorter hours, working from home etc.  Until the changes the right to request flexible working was restricted to certain groups of people.

John Cameron of Roythornes Peterborough employment team said:

“These are significant changes and all employers should make sure they have a system in place to effectively manage any request that come to them.  They could be faced with a number of requests at the same time and need a clear policy to make sure they are handled fairly.”

John went on to say that just because a request is made it does not mean that employers have to agree.

“There is no obligation to accept a request from an employee to work flexibly, providing it is for good reasons, but without knowledge of these, and a set of guidelines there is the real danger that some employers will find themselves in challenging situations.”

“Our guide lays out the basic principles of the new rules and suggest ways in which employers can prepare for the changes.”

The free guide can be downloaded at : http://bit.ly/1ksfYLH