Specific Agreement Required To Extend Deadline For Decision On Flexible Work Request

Employers handling a statutory flexible work request should ensure that any extension to the three month period for deciding the request (including any appeal) is specifically agreed, preferably in writing.  They cannot rely on the fact that the employee has agreed to attend an appeal after the expiry of the period as implicitly extending the period.

The statutory right to request flexible working provides that an employer has a period of three months from the date of the request, or such longer period as is agreed between the parties, to notify the employee of its final decision.  This includes the decision on any appeal by the employee, if an appeal has been allowed – an appeal is not an express requirement of the statutory procedure, but is best practice and may be impliedly required as part of the duty to deal with a request "in a reasonable manner".  An agreement to extend the period can be reached before the original decision period ends or retrospectively