Can I Request Flexible Working in Northern Ireland?

Who this guide is for

Employees in Northern Ireland who want to ask their employer to change their hours, the times they work or where they work, or whose request has been turned down or not answered.

What this guide does not cover

• Work in England, Wales or Scotland: see the guide for England, Wales and Scotland. Its rules are different.
• A change to your hours or place of work as a reasonable adjustment for a disability: see our reasonable adjustments guide. Changes for menopause symptoms: see our menopause guide.
• Maternity leave and pay: see our maternity pay guide. Other time off and your other rights at work: see our employee rights guide.
• Your employer changing your hours or place of work without your agreement: see our fire and rehire guide.
• What an industrial tribunal can award, and claims for being dismissed or treated badly because you made a request. This guide does not cover them: ask the LRA.
• Whether a refusal is discrimination. This guide does not cover discrimination claims: ask the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

What the rules depend on

1. Are you an employee? The statutory right is for employees. Agency workers and office holders do not have it.
2. Had you worked there for 26 weeks without a break when you applied? If not, you do not have the statutory right yet. You can still ask, and your employer may still consider it.
3. Have you made a statutory request in the last 12 months? You can make only one in any 12-month period.
4. Where has your request got to? The dates of your application, the meeting, the decision and any appeal decide what your employer should have done by now, and your time limits.

"How do I make a request?"

Write to your employer. Your application must:

• be dated;
• say that it is made under the statutory right to request flexible working;
• say what change you want and the date you want it to start;
• explain what effect you think the change would have on your employer, and how that could be dealt with;
• say whether you have made an application before, and if so when.

If your application is missing something, your employer can ask you to complete it and does not have to consider it until you do. If you refuse to give the information, your employer can treat your application as withdrawn, and you cannot make another one for 12 months.

You can ask to change your hours, the times you work or where you work, for any reason.

"What must my employer do?"

Within 28 days of getting your application, your employer must either agree to it in writing or hold a meeting with you to discuss it.

You can bring one companion to the meeting: a worker employed by the same employer, chosen by you. Your employer must pay you and your companion for the time off to attend.

Your employer must give you its decision in writing within 14 days after the meeting. If it agrees, the notice must set out the change and the date it starts.

These time limits can be extended if you and your employer agree.

"My employer said no. Can they do that?"

Yes, but only for one or more of these business grounds:

• the burden of additional costs;
• an inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff;
• an inability to recruit additional staff;
• a detrimental impact on quality;
• a detrimental impact on performance;
• a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand;
• insufficient work for the periods you propose to work;
• a planned structural change to the business.

The refusal must be in writing and dated. It must say which ground or grounds apply, explain why they apply to your request, and set out how to appeal.

You have a right to appeal. Write to your employer within 14 days after the date its decision was given to you, setting out your grounds of appeal.

Your employer must hold a meeting to hear your appeal within 14 days after your appeal, unless it agrees to your request in writing within that time. You can bring a companion to that meeting too. Your employer must give you its decision on the appeal in writing within 14 days after the appeal meeting.

"Can I take my employer to an industrial tribunal?"

You cannot complain just because you disagree with the business grounds your employer gave. The tribunal cannot question your employer's business reasons, but it can check whether the facts they were based on are correct.

You can complain if your employer:

• refused your request based on incorrect facts;
• did not follow the procedure, for example did not hold the meeting in time when no extension was agreed, or did not properly explain why it refused.

Before you can make an industrial tribunal claim, you must notify the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) about early conciliation. The LRA also runs an arbitration scheme that can hear flexible working disputes instead of a tribunal.

If a refusal puts you at a disadvantage because of your sex, a disability or another protected characteristic, it may be discrimination. This guide does not cover discrimination claims: ask the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

Changes to flexible working in Northern Ireland, including making it a day-one right, have been proposed but are not law. Until they are, the rules in this guide apply. Check with the LRA.

Deadlines you must meet

• Your employer: a meeting within 28 days of your application, then its decision in writing within 14 days after the meeting.
• Your appeal: in writing, within 14 days after the decision was given to you.
• Your employer: an appeal meeting within 14 days after your appeal, then its decision in writing within 14 days after that meeting.
• Any of these can be extended if you and your employer agree.
• Most industrial tribunal claims must be made within 3 months less 1 day. The Great Britain change to 6 months does not apply to these claims in Northern Ireland.
• Early conciliation: tell the LRA within your time limit. Check your exact date with the LRA.

Traps

• Great Britain's day-one right, 2 requests a year and 2-month decision period do not apply in Northern Ireland.
• You need 26 weeks with your employer on the date you apply, and you can make only one statutory request in 12 months, so make it complete.
• Your appeal must be in writing within 14 days after the refusal was given to you. Do not miss it.
• Agency workers do not have the statutory right to request flexible working.
• The proposed Northern Ireland changes are not law yet.