2nd April 2026
Working from home has shifted from “nice to have” to an expectation in many workplaces. It also sits right at the centre of a lot of conversations we have with employers and employees across Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and beyond. People want clarity on one key point: can an employer be forced to say yes to a work-from-home request?
At the moment, the legal position in England & Wales is clear. Employees have a legal right to request flexible working, including working from home, from day one of employment. That right is important, and employers must handle requests properly. Still, it remains a right to request, not a standalone right to insist on homeworking.
Mike Hornsby, Employment Law Specialist, explores the more important issue: what comes next. Recent reforms have strengthened how flexible working requests must be dealt with, and more changes are already on the horizon. These developments make it harder for employers to reject requests quickly or without clear reasoning, which is why the question keeps resurfacing.
No.
There is no general, free‑standing legal right to work from home. What the law provides is the ability to ask for a change to working arrangements, including where you work.
In practice, that means an employee can submit a statutory flexible working request to work from home (either fully remote or as part of a hybrid arrangement). Employers must consider it in a “reasonable manner” and within the relevant time limit.
Flexible working rules have existed for years, yet recent reforms have strengthened how requests must be handled. Key points include:
For employers, the more important shift is the expectation behind the rules: requests must not be dismissed lightly. Clearer reasoning, better process, and more transparent decision‑making are becoming the norm.
If we take “legally required” to mean “forced to approve homeworking whenever it is requested,” that is not where the law currently stands, nor where it’s heading.
Employers will still be able to refuse where a legitimate business reason applies and where the request simply does not work in practice.
What may change is the standard employers must meet when refusing.
Government guidance signals a push towards:
In other words, employers may not be compelled to approve every request, yet the framework could become more demanding. A refusal may need to be more clearly evidenced and explained, not simply asserted.
For many employers, the biggest risk is not the outcome (approving or refusing), it’s the way the decision is reached and recorded.
Reasonable handling can include:
ACAS guidance also reinforces that employers can accept, partially accept, or reject a statutory request, and that rejection must be for a genuine business reason. It also recognises that employers may need to consider practicalities such as homeworking risk assessments, depending on the role and circumstances.
Employers can refuse a statutory request when:
The precise statutory grounds sit behind the government and ACAS guidance, though the crucial point for most employers is this: the refusal should be grounded in evidence and communicated clearly.
A common misunderstanding is that “we prefer people in the office” is automatically enough. A preference may be part of the wider context, yet the safer approach is to focus on demonstrable reasons: impact on performance, service delivery, supervision, costs, or operational feasibility in that particular role.
The closer the reasoning is to the real requirements of the job, the more defensible the decision tends to be. Conversely, reasoning that does not stand up to scrutiny could expose the Company to the risk of a claim of discrimination, depending on the reason that the request was made.
Even before any further reforms land, there are practical steps employers can take to reduce the risk of disputes.
Start with the basics: make sure you have a clear route for making a request, a consistent way of assessing it, and a decision letter that explains what has been considered.
Government guidance points to the importance of discussion and considering alternatives, which often means the best result is not a blunt yes/no, but a workable compromise.
This is also the moment to sense‑check your policies. If your organisation has grown, moved premises, adopted new tech, or changed how teams collaborate, old assumptions about “who must be where” may not match reality anymore.
It may help to see the direction of travel in plain terms:
That shift can feel subtle on paper, yet in real workplaces it changes behaviour. It nudges employers towards earlier conversations, better record‑keeping, and more considered outcomes.
If you are an employer and you are starting to see more homeworking requests, this is a good time to pressure‑test how your organisation handles them.
Across The MAPD Group, we advise employers and individuals across Staffordshire and beyond on workplace rights and responsibilities, including flexible working requests and the practical steps that reduce the risk of disputes.
If a conversation around homeworking is becoming difficult, a quick chat at the right time can often prevent a bigger problem later. Call us now or make a quick enquiry online for expert guidance you can trust.
