The 8 reasons to refuse flexible working
There are exactly eight statutory grounds, and naming one isn't enough - you have to show why it applies to this request, after actually consulting.
A flexible working request can only be refused on one or more of eight statutory business grounds - and “we'd rather everyone was in” isn't one of them. The eight are: extra cost, meeting customer demand, reorganising work among staff, recruiting others, quality, performance, insufficient work at the proposed times, and planned structural changes. You must consult the employee before refusing, and decide within two months.
What are the 8 reasons to refuse a flexible working request?
| Ground | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| 1. Extra costs | the change would impose a real, identifiable burden - not a vague sense of expense |
| 2. Meeting customer demand | the role must be covered at times the request wouldn't cover |
| 3. Can't reorganise work among existing staff | you looked at redistributing the work and it doesn't go |
| 4. Can't recruit additional staff | covering the gap needs a hire you can't make |
| 5. Detrimental impact on quality | the work itself would get worse, with a reason why |
| 6. Detrimental impact on performance | output or the wider team's performance would fall |
| 7. Insufficient work at the proposed times | there simply isn't work in the hours requested |
| 8. Planned structural changes | a restructure already underway makes the pattern unworkable |
These are set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996 as amended, and Acas covers the process in its flexible working guidance.
Do you have to explain which ground applies?
Yes - and this is where most refusals go wrong. It isn't enough to name a ground; you have to say why it applies to this request, based on facts you can point to. “Ground 2, customer demand” with no explanation looks like a box-tick. “Ground 2: the phones need covering until 6pm and the two other people in the team already finish at 4:30” is a decision someone can understand, even if they don't like it.
Must you consult before refusing?
Yes. Since April 2024 an employer must consult the employee before rejecting a request - a real conversation about whether any version of the change could work, not a courtesy call after the decision. Consultation is often where a refusal turns into a compromise: not four days, but a fixed early finish on two of them.
- Employee makes a written request (a day-one right; up to two requests in any 12 months).
- You discuss it with them - consultation is mandatory before any refusal.
- You decide, and notify them within two months of the request (extendable by agreement).
- If refusing, state which of the eight grounds applies and why.
- Offer an appeal. It isn't statutory, but Acas recommends it and it's what stops disputes escalating.
The full timeline is in the two-month decision window, and the practical wording is in how to respond to a request.
What are the risks of refusing badly?
- Tribunal claim for mishandling - missing the deadline, skipping consultation, or refusing on a non-statutory ground can result in compensation of up to eight weeks' pay.
- Indirect discrimination. This is the bigger risk. Refusing a part-time or school-hours request can disadvantage women disproportionately; refusing an adjustment tied to a disability engages the reasonable adjustments duty entirely separately from flexible working law.
- The quiet cost. People whose reasonable requests get a formulaic no tend to solve the problem by leaving.
What if you can't say yes to the whole thing?
Say yes to part of it, or trial it. A three-month trial period is the most underused tool in this area: it converts an argument about hypotheticals into evidence, and it gives you a legitimate route to revert if the coverage problem you predicted turns out to be real. Document what you agreed either way - a change to hours is a change to the contract.
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Requests handled properly, on the record
CoDash runs the statutory flexible working workflow - request, consultation, decision and the two-month clock - with the paper trail kept for you.