Commons Sense

House of Commons · Written Ministerial Statement

Employment Rights

05 December 2022 · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Proposed by Kevin Hollinrake Con Thirsk and Malton

Employment

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

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At a glance

Key points

  • The government published its response to a consultation on flexible working.
  • The government plans to legislate through secondary and primary legislation to support flexible working.
  • The government supports the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill introduced by Yasmin Qureshi MP.
  • The government will develop guidance on making and administering temporary flexible working requests.
  • The government will launch a call for evidence to better understand informal flexible working practices.

Issue summary

The government has published its response to a consultation on flexible working, outlining plans to legislate and take non-legislative actions to support flexible working arrangements.

Action requested

The Government will legislate through secondary legislation for one measure and primary legislation for others. They are supporting the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill introduced by Yasmin Qureshi MP. Additionally, they commit to developing guidance on making and administering temporary requests and launching a call for evidence to understand informal flexible working practices better.

Key facts

  • The current right to request flexible working supports employees with 26 weeks continuous service.
  • The government consulted in 2021 on changes to the right to request flexible working.
  • The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill was introduced by Yasmin Qureshi MP.
  • Offering flexible working can attract up to 30% more applicants to job vacancies.
  • Flexible working can reduce vacancy costs, increase skill retention, enhance business performance, and reduce staff absenteeism rates.
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