Day one flex to begin from April

New regulations that are coming into effect in April include a day one right to request flexible working, unpaid carers leave and extended protection from redundancy for those on parental leave.

Employee Rights

 

A right to request flexible working from day one in a new job is to come into effect from April 6th, alongside new rights for carers and extended protections for new parents.

The new regulations, which will become law in England, Scotland and Wales, include the  The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which will remove the requirement for an employee to have 26 weeks’ service before they can make a formal flexible working request. This is ahead of implementation of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 which includes provisions such as the right to make two requests for flexible working in a year [up from one].

A poll from Acas shows 70% of workers questioned are not aware of the new day one right to request flexible working.  Acas is producing a new code of practice on handling requests for flexible working, which will be published next year.

Other regulations coming in in April include The Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024, which will extend the period of protection from redundancy for employees who are on maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave to include the entire pregnancy and 18 months after the estimated week of childbirth or the date of birth or adoption and The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 (Commencement) Regulations 2023 which allows for five days of unpaid leave a year, with notice of twice the length of time to be taken off and protection from dismissal or detriment for carers taking the leave.

 



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