The first phase of the Government's consultation on new flexible working rights has closed. We set out why the proposed reforms fall short of what workers, businesses and the economy truly need.
The first phase of the Government’s consultation on new flexible working rights closed on 30th April 2026, offering the clearest picture yet of how Labour plans to deliver on its manifesto commitment to give people a ‘default’ right to work flexibly.
The proposed framework has merit, but falls short of what Britain’s workforce genuinely needs.
The legislation proposes that, from 2027, employers will be required to meet with staff before rejecting a flexible working request, to consider alternatives, and to provide written reasons for refusal. Their decision will be subject to a new ‘reasonableness test’ – to be explored in a second consultation later this year.
Close to nine in ten people in the UK currently work flexibly or want to. For millions, it is a prerequisite for finding work, staying in it and progressing within it. The business case is equally compelling: the post-pandemic surge in hybrid working has delivered measurable gains in productivity and retention, and evidence from sectors where remote working is not an option consistently shows that greater control over working patterns improves satisfaction, recruitment and attendance.
Like its predecessor, the new legislation rests on the individual employee making a formal request and trusting their manager will respond constructively. For many workers, particularly those in frontline and lower-paid roles, this model is poorly suited to the reality they face.
Awareness of rights remains low. Cultural assumptions suppress requests before they are made. And outcomes depend heavily on individual managers, many of whom feel ill-equipped to navigate employment law. Employers will retain the right to refuse on broad business grounds, and without clear thresholds for reasonableness, rejection will remain straightforward even where workable alternatives exist. With no right to appeal and tribunal claims beyond the reach of most workers, enforcement is a significant weak link.
Meaningful reform demands more than procedural updates. The Government should provide substantive, sector-specific guidance, including a clear ‘Path to Yes’ framework with worked examples of what good flexible working looks like in practice.
More fundamentally, the reactive, case-by-case model needs to give way to something more collective. Evidence from other countries shows that team and organisation-wide approaches, where staff have a genuine say in job design and working patterns, achieve far more lasting cultural change than individual requests ever can. Sector-wide coordination is required to overcome collective action hurdles and problems of insecure and excessive hours that will limit effectiveness of the legislation.
Flexible working is not simply a quality-of-life issue. It is a labour market, public health and productivity challenge, and the Government’s reforms, however well-intentioned, risk making little difference where it matters most.
Britain can do better. Read our full consultation response to find out what we believe real flexibility by default should look like.
Published May 2026
