New rules for flexible working requests from 6 April

The right to request flexible working has been around for over 20 years, and in that time eligibility to the right has been extended from parents and carers of young children to all employees after 26 weeks in a job. Access to this right is about to widen again with changes coming into force this year. Accompanying the legislative changes is a new draft Acas statutory Code of Practice, subject to parliamentary approval. ‘The right to request flexible working is just that; a right to ask, which employers can refuse based on a statutory business reason,’ explains Kalpesh Nakeshree, Head of the employment law team with Ware & Kay. ‘Having said that, employers do need to follow the statutory process, which is about to be tweaked in the employee’s favour. Perhaps more significant than the penalties…

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Are you being a nuisance?

Falling out with your neighbours in rural areas is not uncommon. Farming activities are more than likely to cause smell, mud, noise, traffic problems or other disruption at some stage. However, if the impact of your farming operations on your neighbours is severe enough to amount to a nuisance, you could find yourself in a legal dispute and possibly having to defend a court claim which could be both expensive and time consuming. “There are three types of nuisances: private, public and statutory”, says Johanne Spittle, Director, Litigation & Dispute Resolution at Ware & Kay York, Wetherby and Malton. A private nuisance is caused when you do something (or don’t do something) on your land which you are entitled to do but which impacts on or extends onto your neighbour’s land. There are many situations where…

Are you an FCA/PRA regulated employer?

Navigating employment law disciplinary processes can be complicated at the best of times. Below is an overview of our guidance and key pointers. Dual obligations As well as complying with the ACAS code of conduct for disciplinaries, those employing staff in this regulated sector must also fulfil their notification and reporting obligations to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and/or Prudential regulation Authority (PRA). You will be familiar with the new SM&CR regime which prescribes the interplay between the two minefields. This regime re-iterates the importance of managing a disciplinary process fairly as the consequence of not doing so could fall back on your own management team. All financial services staff (including Senior Managers) are governed by the 6 conduct rules and there are four supplementary Conduct Rules for Senior Managers. All these rules require basic standards…