I want to start working four days a week to help my wife with our children, can my employer say no?

I would like to switch from working five days a week to four days a week to help my wife look after our two children. 

Am I legally entitled to ask my employer, do I need to give more detailed reasons, and can they prevent it?

HR expert Kate Underwood says: I take this call from dads more than people imagine, and they nearly always open with an apology and they shouldn't.

Can you ask for flexible working? Yes. From day one, and you can make two requests in a 12 month period. 

You do not owe your boss a life story either. The request has to be in writing, dated, and set out what you want to change and when you want it to start.

Flexible working is a right, say experts, but employees will need to make the case

Since April 2024, you do not even have to explain how the business should cope without you. 

Mention childcare if you want to, and it often does help, but your employer cannot demand a full account of your family arrangements as the price of being heard. Your employer then has to talk it through with you properly and give you an answer within two months.

They can refuse, but only on one of eight set business grounds: extra cost, not being able to reorganise the work, not being able to recruit cover, a hit to quality, a hit to performance, a hit to customer service, not enough work in the hours you want, or planned changes to the business. 

I'd advise you write it as a business case, not a favour, and explain how the job will be done in four days, who picks up what, and offer a three-month trial so the risk feels temporary.

If the answer is no, ask for it in writing and appeal.

Catrin Mills, employment partner with Sharpe Pritchard, adds: The law gives employees a right to ask for flexible working, but it does not give an automatic right to be granted it. 

Your employer must consider the request reasonably and should accept the request unless there is a genuine business reason not to. 

They should discuss it with you and must reach a decision within a maximum of two months. Permitted reasons for rejecting a request include things like concerns about customer service, staffing levels, performance, or the ability to reorganise work amongst other staff.

If your employer is unable to agree because of genuine business reasons, you could also explore alternatives. 

They may be more receptive to a temporary arrangement, a trial period, compressed hours over four days, or a hybrid working pattern. The key is that you should feel able to discuss this with your employer to try to reach a solution.

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