In the past, remote working was viewed solely as a working benefit. With effect from April 2024 employees now have the legal right to make a request for flexible working from their first day of employment.
Flexible working can include changes to:
- Hours (e.g. part‑time, compressed hours, flexitime)
- Times (e.g. different start/finish times)
- Place of work (e.g. remote homeworking or hybrid)
Whether or not employers offer guaranteed flexible working is becoming a make-or-break factor for prospective employees. In job interviews nationwide, more people are asking, ‘Is this role remote?’ This is catching employers off guard and leaving them unable to respond.
Providing employees with incentives maximises their performance. However, making unrealistic promises can damage your image. Furthermore, with the Employee Rights Act 2025, including laws about remote work, now seems like the time to make your stance clear.
You might be hesitant…
While more businesses are moving towards remote working, it doesn’t mean classic office working is obsolete. There are many benefits to working in a shared space that are lost when working from home.
A major concern about flexible working comes from management. How can department managers ensure their teams are working productively? In an office setting, it’s easier to check in with teams at a given moment. When working from home, managers must trust that their team are working to meet deadlines. In addition, the temptation to do quick chores can pull employees out of their work mindset. This can lead to a lack of focus and a decrease in the quality of work.
Any flexible worker knows the challenge of having to organise multiple MS Teams calls every day. Whether it’s a long meeting or a quick progress check-in, they can take up time you don’t have. Your work can even be delayed by hours if a colleague isn’t available when needed. In an office environment, you can simply leave your desk and get the answer you need in minutes.
We are social creatures. Being in the office environment ensures you can develop personal connections with colleagues. This can lead to better team synergy, which may be lost when working from home. Failing to build upon workplace connections can lead to a lack of harmony, with people taking an individualistic approach to their role. These isolated roles then causes a lack of peer-to-peer support, potentially risking quality of work.
How your team benefits
Well-being and inclusion
Maintaining your employees’ well-being is the key to an enthusiastic, dedicated team. Long daily commutes to and from the office can lead to significant fatigue among staff. Reducing this stress by a few hours every week can have a massive impact. In fact, 79% of people stated feeling less drained, and 78% reported feeling less anxious.
The ability to work from home can massively improve quality of life. Having access to certain tools in a comfortable space can minimise the impact a condition has on employees. For example, a bustling work environment can amplify someone’s ADD symptoms, leading to a lack of focus.
As a business, you may be interested in how flexible working can help you flourish. But how?
More people want roles offering remote work. Make your business a preferred choice for talented individuals with strong experience.
It gives you the opportunity to enhance your job offers by adding benefits beyond salary. Some people may benefit more from a flexible working schedule than from a larger salary. Offering guaranteed remote working options makes your job offers much more competitive. This is perfect for smaller businesses that lack the budget to offer higher salaries.
Furthermore, it can also benefit employees. Working in the same environment can help provide some people with a structure in which they thrive. But for others, sitting in the same seat, in the same office, each day, can hinder their focus and drive. Having the option to work in a different environment can break the monotony that can lead to stagnant creativity.
Finally, remote work can help with minimising the impact of workplace disruptions. Every employer has experienced the dreaded wi-fi outage. Hours go by without any of your team being able to deliver on vital work. Whether it’s financial reports or last-minute client work, remote working ensures certain employees can still help.
Keeping compliant
As of December 2025, the Employment Rights Act 2025 has been in effect. Part of it introduces legislation giving workers in Britain the right to request flexible working. This is available to employees from day one of their job.
While employers can still deny employee requests, a new ‘reasonableness test’ ensures they make decisions fairly. It also isn’t a strict yes-or-no. Suggest alternative options or compromises, and ensure the solution works for both parties.
There are eight legal reasons for an employer to refuse a remote working request, such as restructuring, redundancies, or changes to roles that make the request unworkable, as it can lead to additional costs, difficulty reorganising work, and a negative impact on performance quality. Every request has to be considered, and a formal, documented consultation between the employer and the employee must take place, and good employers should allow you to be accompanied to the consultation meeting and provide a right of appeal against the outcome.
However, under the Employment Rights Act 2025, the standard time limit for most Employment Tribunal claims will increase from 3 months to six months, in January 2027, the unfair dismissal qualifying period will drop to six months and compensatory awards will be uncapped, alongside new protections on “fire and rehire” tactics. Effectively, anyone recruited from 2nd July 2026 will only have 6 months before full employment rights kick in.
As laws change and more workers are looking to remote work for a balanced lifestyle, it’s imperative to create a happy yet productive working environment. Changing the status quo can be scary, but we believe that the potential of hybrid working is something you can get truly excited about.
If your business is new to flexible working, we can work alongside you to ensure a smooth transition to hybrid working. Get in touch with our team today for more info.