The government is consulting on changes to the UK’s flexible working rules, and there’s only a short window to have your say.

One of the changes included in the Employment Rights Act is flexible working and the way employers need to manage requests from employees and the aim is to ensure that the opportunity to work flexibly is no longer a perk but a default expectation in many workplaces.

What’s changing?

The consultation is looking at how easy it should be for employees to request flexible working and how quickly employers should respond. Possible changes include allowing requests from day one of employment and tightening up the timescales and processes for handling those requests. 

For small businesses, this could mean more frequent and earlier conversations about working hours, patterns and location.

Why this matters for small businesses

For smaller employers, every role tends to be business‑critical, so changing one person’s pattern can have a knock‑on effect. 

You may have to rethink how you cover core hours, how you organise handovers, and how you maintain service levels if more of the team are working reduced hours or remotely. 

At the same time, offering thoughtful flexibility can make it easier to recruit and retain good people, especially when you are competing with larger employers on salary and benefits.

Practical steps to consider

Now is a good time to consider what flexible working could look like in your business. For example, which roles genuinely need to be on‑site and which could be done partly from home; where you can offer flexibility on start and finish times; and whether options like compressed hours, term‑time only or job shares could work. It’s also worth reviewing your contracts, handbook and internal processes (with your HR expert’s input!) so they clearly set out how requests will be made, considered and documented.

Have your say before the deadline

The consultation gives small business owners a chance to explain what works, and what doesn’t, in the real world of running a lean team. 

If you’re concerned about additional red tape, or if you feel that certain roles cannot be performed flexibly, this is the moment to feed that experience into the consultation.

Equally, if you’ve seen flexibility help your business grow, those positive stories are valuable too. 

You can find the consultation details and have your say here. The closing date is 30 April 2026.