Flexible working

Appeals

Employees no longer have a statutory right to an appeal.

But offering an appeals process helps to demonstrate that the employer is handling requests in a ‘reasonable manner’.

The employee must follow the company’s procedures for appealing.

The employee or employer should follow the company’s procedures for solving a workplace dispute if a rejected application causes problems.

Employees can complain to an employment tribunal if the employer:

did not handle the request in a ‘reasonable manner’
wrongly treated the employee’s application as withdrawn
dismissed or treated an employee poorly because of their flexible working request, for example refused a promotion or pay rise
rejected an application based on incorrect facts

Employees cannot complain to a tribunal just because their flexible working request was rejected.

An employee should complain to the tribunal within 3 months of:

hearing their employer’s decision
hearing their request was treated as withdrawn
the date the employer should have responded to their request (but failed to do so)

If an employer or employee is unsure of their rights, they should get legal advice.