The UK’s new flexible working law
A new law is set to strengthen workers’ rights to request flexible working arrangements - and equality campaigners say it could help close the gender pay gap.
What’s the story?
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill is set to become law after passing its third reading in the House of Lords earlier this month.
The legislation gives workers the legal right to request flexible working from day one of a new job (as opposed to after 26 weeks under the current law). It also puts the onus on employers to explain why such arrangements wouldn’t work.
And how could this boost gender equality?
Journalist and campaigner Anna Whitehouse said the shift is “not just possible but essential to close the gender pay gap”. Numerous studies have found that women are much more likely to request flexible working arrangements than men, for example due to caring responsibilities.
Deloitte’s 2022 Women at Work report found that 94% of women believe that asking for flexible working will impact their career progression - and campaigners hope that the law change will help normalise such arrangements and reduce stigma.
Writing for Stylist earlier this year, MP Yasmin Qureshi - who introduced the bill to parliament - said the legislation would also support “new parents, unpaid carers and disabled people”.
What’s the bigger picture?
The pandemic brought about a massive shift in working arrangements - and, as the BBC has pointed out, “workers and employers have been locking horns over the return to office” for nearly three years now.
In April, JPMorgan Chase announced that it would be requiring executives to return to the office five days a week. And this time last year, Sports Direct owner Frasers Groups scrapped working from home, with an internal memo claiming that some were “not treating Friday as a working day”.