The Law on Flexible Working

2. Who Qualifies?

Parents or carers requesting flexible working under the statutory right must fulfil certain criteria.

2.1 The employee must:

• Be the mother, father, adopter, guardian or foster parent of the child in question.
• Be the spouse, partner, civil partner or relative, or live at the same address.
• Have responsibility, or expect to have responsibility, for bringing up or caring for the adult or child.
• Make the application as a means of enabling them to care for the child.
• Have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks before making the application.
• Have made no other application in the preceding 12 months.
• Be willing to agree a change in their working pattern, with a corresponding drop in pay if necessary. You can agree that it should only be a temporary or transitional change.

2.2 If the employee is requestiong flexible working in order to look after a child, the child must be under six or under 18, in the case of a child with disabilities.