The Statutory Procedure and Employee Remedies

Covering Assessment Criterion 4.3 of 5OS01, this video addresses the statutory procedure that governs flexible working requests and the remedies available to employees when that procedure is not followed correctly. The video sets out what makes a flexible working request valid under statute, examining the specific formal requirements a request must satisfy, including the requirement that it be made in writing. It also examines the employer obligations that arise once a valid request is received, among them the duty to consult introduced in 2024, and the two-month timeframe within which a response, including any appeal, must be completed.

The video also covers the interaction between flexible working rights and time off entitlements, distinguishing between paid and unpaid categories. Paid entitlements discussed include annual leave, statutory sick pay, and maternity and paternity leave, while unpaid entitlements include parental leave and time off for dependants. Shift patterns, weekend working, and bank holiday arrangements are addressed in the context of contractual terms and flexible working requests, with particular attention given to situations where a request is grounded in a protected characteristic such as religious observance, bringing both flexible working legislation and the Equality Act 2010 into scope simultaneously.

On the question of remedies, the video examines the eight statutory business grounds on which a flexible working request may lawfully be refused, internal appeal processes and the principles of good practice surrounding them, and the grounds on which an employee may bring a claim before an employment tribunal. These grounds include procedural failures, refusal based on incorrect facts, and decisions made outside the permitted timeframe. The video further distinguishes between the compensation ceiling of eight weeks' pay that applies to procedural breaches and the uncapped compensation available where a refusal amounts to unlawful discrimination, noting also the potential for constructive dismissal claims in more serious cases.