Flexible working arrangement- appeal turned down. What next?

[OwlMother]

I have just appealed my employers refusal of my FWA request and was hoping to get some advice. One of the reasons for the decline was that 30% of the workforce currently had a FWA which meant that they couldn't allow any more

It seems unjust to me that they are effectively working on a first come first served basis, I am just too far back in the queue to be allowed a FWA. I wasn't sure this fit within the normal parameters for refusing the request? If anything I thought that others in a similar position being granted one would have provided precedent for my request.

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this?

Was it a formal request under the Regulations?

If so, the reason for refusal must be one from the list of permissible reasons (eg inability to reallocate work amongst existing staff). There is guidance here m.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1616

They can take into account other people’s existing flexible working arrangements. For example, let’s say you’re in a team of 4 with 2 people needed to cover days and 2 to cover evenings. If the 2 people doing days are already doing it as a result of putting in a flexible working request to only do days, then it’s tough luck if you’re doing evening shifts and want to switch to days.

But if it’s an arbitrary ‘we don’t want more than X% of people of flexible hours’ then that would be unfair. The employer still has to be able to point to one of the reasons on the list in the link above.

If you've been turned down and the appeal has also been refused I think it's a tribunal next?

So expensive legal fees

What pattern of work do you want OP? Are you asking for a lot eg requesting 2 days per week working remotely or something like that? Could you consider modifying your request and putting it through as a new request after a period of time.

30% of the team wanting FWA isn't that high a %, so only 3 people in a team of 10 or approx 2 people in a team of 6.

If it is an absolute show stopper you may need to find something new. Tribunal is arduous and expensive versus getting a job with a work pattern that better suits your needs, and where the organisation supports you rather than them having to be forced into it.

My point above re low % doing FW shows your organisation doesn't have a culture of supporting FW or may not have sufficient staff to make it viable for them.

What next? Well, if you feel they haven't followed the proper procedure, including giving one of the permissible reasons for declining, you can bring a tribunal claim. The tribunal would make them hear the request again and follow the right procedure this time.

Or, if they are imposing a blanket rule that no more than 30% of people can have flexible working, you could consider an indirect discrimination claim on the basis that this rule will affect women disproportionately.

Or you can accept the decision and continue on your normal hours, or you can resign.

It's fine for them to take into account other flexible working arrangement if it means they are unable to cover your work if you also reduced your hours. It's not fine for them to apply a blanket rule.

And other people having flexible working absolutely does not set a precedent for yours being granted as well. Each request should be considered individually at the time it is made. The circumstances when person A applied to reduce hours might be very different to when persons B, C, D, E apply, and that's ok. If an employer was legally obliged to grant flexible working to everyone who wants it because they have to one person, no one would have anyone at work on a Friday.

It would be interesting to know whether there is any discrimination between male v female employees. Sometimes companies favour those whose role and work they value more highly. So if there is a majority of male employees being allowed to work flexibly it could signal they value men more than women. Let's face it there's a lot in the news this week about the gender pay gap. There could be a gender FW gap as well.

If you take your company to tribunal you're basically fecked re promotion and pay rises. I don't think the law offers any real protection at all - ultimately if they keep in refusing regardless of strength of grounds you have to go a tribunal which has cost implications for you.

All women I know who have lost at appeal (on a flex working request) and they are lawyers....have simply found new jobs.

I think the FW bias would be in favour of women simply because they tend to carry the bulk of childcare responsibilities. I know lots of women who have a FWA and very few men who do so a blanket % policy would be indirect discrimination against women.

You said this was one of the reasons. What were the others?

Jelly, FW includes a regular work from home day (eg allowed to remote work every Friday). We don't know what kind of flexible working request the OP applied for or what is the FW norm in their organisation so it could be more blokes get to work remotely. Impossible to tell from information given so far.