Some case law examples involving flexible working


In Shaw v CCL Ltd UKEAT/0512/06, the EAT held that a refusal to allow part-time work was direct and indirect sex discrimination and a breach of contract, entitling the employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal.


In Mitchell v David Evans Agricultural Ltd UKEAT/0083/06, the EAT said that when deciding whether an employer was justified in refusing a request to work part-time, the tribunal should have undertaken a proper analysis of the needs of the business, and considered whether the employer’s need for a full-time worker was “reasonably necessary”.


In Hardys & Hansons plc v Lax [2005] IRLR 726, the Court of Appeal held that a refusal to allow an employee to job-share was sex discrimination and could not be justified when the employer had failed to show that the job could not be done on that basis.


In Little v Richmond Pharmacology [2013] UKEAT 0490/12/2009, a sales executive who was planning her return from maternity leave asked to work flexibly, partly at home, with remote access and partly office-based. Her request was initially rejected by a manager who told her that sales executives can never work part-time. However, before her return date, a senior manager reversed the decision and agreed to a three month trial. Instead, Little resigned and claimed sex discrimination. Her claim failed because since her employer reversed its decision before the return date, she suffered no disadvantage.