ACAS has published a draft Code of Practice (available here) for consultation on handling requests for a predictable working pattern.
This draft code follows the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill receiving royal assent, (referred to in the Legislation Changes section of this Newsletter). The draft Code:
- Asks for feedback about how the application process for making a request (set out in the Bill) should be set out in the Code of Practice. (The process in the Bill varies depending on whether the request is being made by an employee/worker to their employer, or by an agency worker to their agency or hirer).
Sets out good practice principles including:
- Allowing workers to be accompanied at meetings to discuss a request.
- Requiring employers to set out in its decision any (reasonable) additional information that helps explain its decision; and
- Requiring employers to allow an appeal where a request has been rejected.
The Code will not be legally binding. However, it will be taken into account by courts and Tribunals when considering relevant cases. The consultation closes on 17 January 2024.
