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ARTICLE · 04 NOVEMBER 2026

UK: Consultation On Draft Revised Acas Code On Strengthened Flexible Work Request Regime

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

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Acas has released a draft Code of Practice addressing how employers should handle flexible working requests under the Employment Rights Act 2025, introducing a new reasonableness test for refusals. The consultation, open until December 2026, outlines four key principles employers should follow when evaluating requests, including evidence-based decision-making, exploring reasonable accommodations, collaborative problem-solving, and maintaining transparency and consistency in the process.

United KingdomEmployment and HR
Anna Henderson
Anna Henderson
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Acas is consulting until 17 December 2026 on its proposed revised Code of Practice on requests for flexible working, updated to reflect the Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms due to be implemented in Autumn 2027. These reforms include the new procedural requirements for handling a request confirmed last month (see our blog post here), as well as the new requirement for an employer's refusal (on one of the existing eight prescribed grounds) to be reasonable. The Code sets out the legal requirements (what employers 'must' do) as well as what Acas considers to be good employment practice (what employers 'should' do), and tribunals are required to take the Code into account where relevant.

Reasonableness test

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