Flexible working / tribunal

[stilltrying12]

Has anyone ever submitted a flexible working request and they have taken longer than the statutory now 2 month period (it used to be 3) and not agreed with the company for the extension. I am due to return from maternity leave soon and submitted my flexible working request just over a months ago and we are only now at the appeal stage. It's been an absolute mess the hole way through with them dragging there heels and not really knowing what they were doing. I have a case to take them to tribunal but I wanted to know what I would get out of it?! And if it's really stressful because I'm already stressed enough as it is! Not to be to outing but it is quite a large company so not a small little independent business.

I think there is a typo in your post as it says you submitted your request "just over a months ago". If it was 5 months or more ago, I'm afraid you have lost the right to take them to tribunal. The clock starts ticking when the original 2 months deadline expired. You then have 3 months minus one day to start a tribunal case. If it is less than 5 months since you submitted your request you still have time to take them to tribunal. If you win you would get some compensation.

What are you hoping to achieve? Do you want to be a SAHP with a compensation payout? Or do you want to keep working? What flexibility have you asked for? Do other workers have flexibility similar?

It could be that they are taking a long time because they are trying to work out a compromise that will work for them. If it's clear that your proposal couldn't fit with operational requirements it doesn't take long to say "nope"

Yes apologies it was submitted over 2 months ago, the two months lapsed on the 23rd October so I believe I'm correct in thinking the 3 months minus 1 day started from the 23rd?

No not planning on getting comp, I work at a 24 business with shift work and I want to be rostered opposite shifts to my fiancé who also works there. We both work a flexible roster with short notice so they are able to achieve this quite easily. It's more so the fact that they are taking so long to sort things, they don't need to recruit anyone to fill my space it's a massive company with flexible rosters so someone will just be rerostered in my place. They have however said no in the first instance due to "planned structural changes" but then go on to discuss a change that had already happened so no longer planned we are still at the appeal stage our hearing hasn't happened yet but it's more so the way I have had to chase them at each point of the process and they have overrun on their own policy and now the statutory procedures.

Yes, you are correct. What you have to consider is whether the stress of taking them to tribunal is worth it.

@stilltrying12 I would talk to ACAS as the first step is mediation. Quite often this is all that is needed.

If you and your fiancé do the same job and just want different shifts this is one situation where it would be hard for the business to find a business reason to refuse.

"A tribunal in a claim for procedural failures under the Flexible Working Regulations cannot question the business reasons or commercial rationale or indeed fairness behind an employer’s decision to refuse a request. This means the employer’s decision will not be scrutinised. This is different from discrimination claims related to flexible working where the tribunal can look in more detail at the rationale. But a Tribunal may be able to:

1. order your employer to reconsider the request
2. award compensation to be paid by the employer, up to a maximum of 8 weeks’ pay (capped at the statutory maximum, £700 per week from 6 April 2024)."

From here :
https://workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/what-to-do-if-your-flexible-working-request-is-refused/#:~:text=A%20tribunal%20in%20a%20claim,week%20from%206%20April%202024).

My feedback having experienced a botched FWR is to start by raising an early conciliation piece with ACAS- it's part of the tribunal process and it also stops the clock and allows the company to come to their conclusions etc
it is also simultaneously a shor across the bows that if they don't start playing ball they may end up at tribunal
also consid r joining a union or if already in one getting them involved
I've seen a tribunal and the process. Is very stressful and personally it's not worth it just due to a delay but if you then also get a no and you feel it's unreasonable and or discriminatory in some way it will certainly add to your case

Yes, my husband's work didn't meet with him and never gave him a reply to his formal flexible working request. They had no grounds to not to agree to his request, apart from being bullying arseholes. He left.

Yes, way over time limits, think.it was 6 months and they hadn't responded otherwise than to say they'd look into it. The manager got sacked anyway for other reasons and the applicant left.

Sorry for replying twice. Oops.

She has to submit a claim to trigger mediation

Exactly, which is why she needs to talk to ACAS.