HR Help - Flexile working req

[popcornaddict]

Hi Everyone
At my work the office staff have always done 8am-5pm since we opened 5 years ago. The no1 boss left and has been replaced with a new boss who came from a different store. The store she came from only opened 1 year ago and with the new stores their office staff do 8am-8pm.
The new boss decided that she wants our office staff to do this 8am-8pm thing.
So basically - 2 members of the office are really struggling with this as they have young families and both of them were hired to do certain hours that fit in with their families 1 8am-12 and 1 10-3(this didnt go in writing or anything, the old boss was very good about people with families and always let people do what hours suited them as long as work was done)
The new boss is refusing to budge on this even though she knows they are struggling, she even said them they chose to be working mums its not her problem they are struggling.
I want to know if I should advise them to put in a request for flexible working... like just stating they want to do what they have always done before? All the work always gets done and the needs of the business havent changed or anything like that to make it needed for them to work until 8pm. What I really want to know is, is there a reason why the company would say no? Like are they allowed to if there is no real reason?
Thanks - sorry for the esssay

If you look on the www.gov.uk site and search for flexible working, there's some good clear information on the right to ask employers to consider flexible working, and also a list of the acceptable reasons that employers would need to demonstrate, if they wanted to refuse a request.

They don't need to put in a flexible working request to keep their hours the same. If they've been doing consistently the same hours over a long period of time, then those are their terms and conditions regardless of whether they are in writing or not, and it's up to the employer to go through an appropriate consultation process to seek to vary those terms. Same applies to all staff, not just these two - changing from 8-5 to 8-8 would also be a change to terms and conditions.

I had a similar situation (NHS). Had worked set hours for several years and part of (another) re-shuffle involved a change to working hours. A consultation process was implemented of which the outcome was that I was given six months grace to re-arrange childcare and then the new hours were for everyone. No exceptions. It was just long enough for me to find another job!