Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to protect workers' rights to flexible working.

Through the Employment Rights Act 2025, the government is strengthening the flexible working framework. We are introducing a new requirement that employers must only reject requests where it is reasonable to do so and the Act provides powers to set out a statutory process employers must follow before rejecting a request. These changes are intended to improve transparency and accountability by ensuring employees receive a clear explanation of decisions while supporting more meaningful discussion about whether flexibility can be accommodated. The government intends to bring these measures into effect in Autumn 2027.