A no now needs a meeting

Louise Haigh announced that employers who want to refuse a flexible working request must sit down with the worker, consider it properly and explain the decision.

“If an employer wants to turn down a request they will have to sit down with their employee, properly consider it and explain why.”

Announced to the TUC

The first secretary of state set out the change at the TUC conference in Brighton, speaking to trade union representatives.

Life is messy

Haigh framed the reform around ordinary pressures: school pickups, caring for parents, families needing help at short notice.

“There's kids to pick up, parents to look after, families who rely on us at short notice.”

Not every request wins

She accepted that businesses have constraints, that some jobs cannot be done from home, and that some requests will still be refused. The bar is serious consideration, not automatic yes.

“But every request can be taken seriously.”

What changes from today's rules

Employees already have a legal right to request flexible working, and bosses must consider it in a reasonable manner. The new rules add the face-to-face meeting and a stated reason for refusal.

Part of a bigger push

Haigh credited unions for the Employment Rights Act, which brought new rights on sick pay, parental leave and zero-hours contracts, and said the government sits on the side of working people.

“Working people have had the biggest uplift in their rights in a generation.”