The employer’s response 


The law requires the employer to deal with the request in a “reasonable manner” and to notify the employee of their decision within three months of the date of the request (including any appeal), unless a longer period has been agreed (section 80G, ERA 96, amended by section 132 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 14)).


Under the Acas Code, the employer should consider the request and arrange to discuss it with the employee as soon as possible. The discussion need not always be face-to-face. If both parties agree, it can take place in some other way, for example, over the phone. The Code says that where possible, the discussion should take place in private. There is no need for a discussion if the request is simply approved. 


There is no statutory right to be accompanied under the new procedure, but the Code says employers should allow an employee to be accompanied “by a work colleague” and that the employee should be “informed about this prior to the discussion”. The Acas guidance says it is “good practice” to allow employees to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union rep, and that employers should consider specific needs of disabled workers, and non-native English speakers. 


If the procedure goes wrong and the employee decides to lodge a formal grievance linked to the application, for example, for discrimination, at this stage the employee has a formal statutory right to be accompanied by their union rep (see Right to be Accompanied, page 343).