Can my employer refuse a reasonable adjustment of hours for ME?

I am really sorry to read that your employer has refused your very small and reasonable request to shift your working day by just half an hour. Your situation covers two different areas of employment law. Under both of them there are strong arguments that your employer should have granted your request.

Firstly, if you made a formal flexible working request an employer can only refuse a request if there’s a valid business reason for doing so. There are eight specific business reasons which an employer can rely on which are:

– it will cost too much
– they cannot reorganise the work among other staff
– they cannot recruit more staff
– there will be a negative effect on quality
– there will be a negative effect on the business’ ability to meet customer demand
– there will be a negative effect on performance
– there’s not enough work for you to do when you’ve requested to work
– there are planned changes to the business, for example, your employer plans to reorganise or change the business and thinks the request will not fit with these plans.

From what you have said, you have asked to move your working day by half an hour and you have said it will not affect your job or the work they do. It therefore seems unlikely they could refuse the request on this ground.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, as you have ME and are registered as disabled, you have protection under the Equality Act 2010 from discrimination. Your employer has an obligation to consider reasonable adjustments to your role which are required due to your disability. A small change in your working hours, such as the change you asked for, is likely to be seen as a reasonable adjustment. Your employer has therefore potentially discriminated against you on the grounds of your disability as a result of refusing your request.

If you did not make your request as a formal flexible working request but made an informal request, then I recommend you ask again using a formal flexible working request letter as they will then have to follow the formal process and confirm to you which of the eight business reasons they are relying on to refuse your request. You may find that you receive a different response from them once they follow the formal process. You should also include information about your medical condition and the fact you are disabled in the request and explain that you consider the change to your working arrangements would be a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010.

If you did make your initial request as a formal flexible working request, I recommend you appeal their decision and provide as much detail as possible about your medication and the impact that the small change in working hours will have on your medical condition and your belief that this would be a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010.

*Charlotte Farrell and Tabytha Cunningham are Associate Solicitors at Paris Smith in Southampton.

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