Flexible working requests increase by over 50%

An increasing number of employees have begun taking their bosses to court after refusing flexible working requests, according to new research today.

Employment tribunal decisions on a mixture of remote and office-based working have jumped more than 50 per cent in the past year to 193, employment law firm GQ|Littler has found. 127 tribunal decisions were recorded in 2019/2020.

The rise in cases has likely been pushed by employers championing the march back to the office, after employees had a taste of a new way of working, the law firm explained.

Sophie Vanhegan said:

“The rise in cases relating to flexible working, suggests this is becoming a battleground within some businesses.”

“We may just be seeing the beginning of a tranche of claims taken against employers who’ve failed to deal with flexible working requests in a ‘reasonable manner’.”

Vanhegan warned that employees may begin to “vote with their feet” should employers use “heavy-handed” approaches to flexible working.

Read the full article in The Law Society Gazette, City A.M., Personnel Today, Staffing Industry Analysis, HR Magazine and Working Mums.