My flexible working appeal has been turned down. Is there anything else I can do?

You must get legal advice if your application becomes disputed.

If your request has been rejected on appeal and your employer has notified you of this, you can complain to an employment tribunal on the wider grounds that your employer:

• failed to comply with the correct procedure as set out earlier in this leaflet;
• rejected your application on a ground that was not in the permitted list of ‘business’ grounds;
• based their decision to reject the request on incorrect facts.

You must go to an employment tribunal within three months of the date on which you are notified of your employer’s decision on your appeal or the date on which the breach of procedure was committed by the employer. The tribunal will only extend this time limit if it believes that it was not reasonably practicable for you to have complained within that period (and then only for such further period as it considers reasonable).

If the employment tribunal finds your complaint to be well founded then it can make a monetary award or order for your employer to reconsider your request for flexible working. The maximum award which can be made is only eight weeks’ pay, (though there is also a statutory cap, limiting how a weeks’ pay is valued).

Instead of an employment tribunal application, you may have the option of choosing binding arbitration of your dispute by an ACAS arbitrator. However, you should be careful about embarking on this course of action, and you should consult your union or legal adviser and ACAS before doing so.

Additionally, if your application to work flexibly is disputed or refused, you may have other rights under the following laws:

• sex or disability discrimination legislation;
• health and safety law;
• negligence;
• relying on the contractual duty of employers to behave with trust and confidence towards their employees.

For example: Indirect sex discrimination can sometimes be established by women, in particular where you can show that the employer’s refusal to allow you child-friendly hours is not justified. In addition, a refusal to permit a man to work child-friendly hours, when a woman would be allowed to, is direct sex discrimination. If you suffer from an impairment, disability discrimination laws may also require employers to make a ‘reasonable adjustment’ to practices (including working hours) in order to ensure that you are not at a substantial disadvantage compared with other persons.

You may also have the right to claim unfair dismissal if you are sacked following a disputed application or resign because it has not been handled fairly by your employer.

The compensation available is likely to be much greater under these other legal rights than under the new rights to have requests for flexible working considered. The fact that employers are required under the new flexible working rights to put their reasons for refusal in writing, and to follow proper procedures, may be useful to you as evidence in any other legal action.