Your legal rights explained after Andy Burnham government announces major working from home change

by Abigail Nicholson, Bethan Finighan

18:25, 19 Sep 2026 Updated 08:41, 20 Sep 2026

Employers could find it harder to reject workers' requests to work from home under planned changes to flexible working rules.

Andy Burnham's government has vowed to make things easier for anyone who wants to work from home in a move set to put 'power back into the hands of working people'.

The government is bringing forward reforms intended to make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted, with the changes expected to come into force in 2027.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

Addressing the annual Trade Unions Congress (TUC) in Brighton, Louise Haigh said businesses would need to demonstrate they had "properly" weighed up a worker's request before turning it down, reports Birmingham Live.

She said: "That is what putting power back into the hands of working people looks like. Life isn't always as neat as employers would like it to be.

"There's kids to pick up. Parents to look after. Families who rely on us at short notice. And sometimes, a little bit of flexibility can make all the difference."

Take part in our poll

Ms Haigh added that while "not every job can be done from home and not every request can be agreed", each request "can be taken seriously". She said: "If an employer wants to turn down a request, they will have to sit down with their employee, properly consider and explain why."

Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, said flexible working was not "just a perk – it's a lifeline".

He added: "That's why this move is a welcome step forward. It makes it harder for employers to turn down requests while giving workers a stronger voice in the process.

"Improving access to flexible working benefits workers, businesses and the economy – whether it's through increasing staff productivity or higher retention."

But what are your rights if you already work from home?

Your legal rights to work from home

Employees have had a statutory right to request flexible working from their first day in a job since 2024. Flexible working can include changing your hours, start or finish times, days of work or your place of work, according to ACAS.

However, having a legal right to request flexible working does not currently mean you have an automatic right to work from home. Your employer can refuse a request if there is a genuine business reason for doing so.

There are currently eight reasons an employer can rely on to reject a statutory flexible working request. These include the burden of additional costs, being unable to reorganise work among existing staff, a detrimental impact on performance or quality, an inability to meet customer demand and planned structural changes to the business.

People can make up to two statutory requests in any 12-month period which must be responded to and completed within two months of the request being made, The Mirror reports .

According to ACAS, you can also agree flexible working arrangements informally without using the statutory procedure. This includes informally asking for a change, or if a company has a separate process for requests.

People who have a disability can also ask to work from home. By law, employers have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.

People asking to work from home because of a disability can do so by making a flexible working request or a reasonable adjustment request.

To find out about home and hybrid working in your organisation, talk to your manager, employer or HR department.