As of 6 April 2024, UK workers have the right to ask their employer for a change to their working conditions from their first day in a job, thanks to the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill 2023.

This can be done through the means of making a statutory application, and requests can include amends to the number of hours you work, start or finish time, the days of the week you work, or the location of your work.

The aim is to enable people to work, within reason, in the way that suits them best. And there are plenty of other ways this cake can be cut, according to CIPD.

Job-sharing or term-time working as well as flexitime and compressed hours are other examples of flexible working practices. Many of these benefit families, and in particular women, who often find they shoulder more of the burden of care.

According to research by Opinium, 19 per cent of mothers of young children have considered leaving the workforce temporarily or permanently due to the challenges of balancing childcare and their career, but only 10 per cent of fathers said the same.

And while there is no guarantee that a request will be granted, the legislation ensures that employers can’t dismiss applications out of hand. Instead, they’ll be required to explain the reasons behind their decision, and they must provide a response within two months.

If at first a request doesn’t succeed, you can try again. The new legislation allows employees to make two statutory requests for flexible working in any 12-month period.

Future-proof flexibility

“With changes to the Flexible Working Bill coming into effect, workers will gain greater autonomy over their working hours and patterns. While employers can still reject requests for flexibility with sufficient reason, the changes are a step in the right path for creating a level playing field for access to flexible work,” says Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed UK.

“For workers suffering from health issues and disabilities, or who left the job market during the pandemic and never returned, a role flexible to their schedule may tempt them back into work. This should help to widen the candidate pool for businesses able to accommodate flexible arrangements for new employees.”

If you’re on the lookout for new flexible working jobs, then the Growth Business job board is a great place to start. It contains thousands of open jobs in the tech industry, all across the country. Discover three of those below.

#1 – Solution Architect, Manchester Airport, Manchester

In-office or flexible/hybrid working for a better work-life balance is a feature of this solution architect role at Manchester Airport. Here, you will define technology solutions to meet requirements, taking into account systems, data, process and people. Ensuring that designs are aligned to the overarching technology end-state strategies, you’ll work hand-in-hand with teams and business stakeholders to ensure that solutions will meet outcomes. You’ll be helping to solve problems including working out how to digitise the passenger journey, improve aircraft turnaround times, optimise colleague experiences and drive efficiencies across the group. You’ll have a hand in delivery end-to-end, from inception and shaping, right through to post-go live support. If this interesting opportunity appeals, discover more about it here.

#2 – Senior Power Platform Developer, ClearCourse, London

ClearCourse is a disruptive tech company that provides more than 40 software and payments solutions to over 20,000 businesses, and as the senior power platform developer, you will work on a hybrid-working model, and be responsible for the delivery for all assigned user stories from estimation through code, bug fixing and documentation. This role has a strong delivery component and is responsible for delivery of software in agile Sprints. You’ll perform code reviews, taking care to think about performance, security and maintainability. Five years’ of experience in software development along with a strong knowledge of the Microsoft Power Platform, including PowerApps, Power Automate, React, PCF Controls is required, along with other capabilities.

#3 – IT Manager, AutoRek, Glasgow

Flexible/hybrid working to support your family is a benefit of this IT manager job at AutoRek. Its platform simplifies highly complex data, automates critical business processes, and manages regulatory change. ​In your role, you will lead a team of two IT support engineers, troubleshoot complex technical issues related to Windows Hybrid Domain, Microsoft 365, and end-user computing, collaborate with other departments and stakeholders to align IT initiatives with business objectives and develop and maintain scripts for automating tasks related to AD/AAD management. You’ll also implement infrastructure-as-code solutions for managing and provisioning AD/AAD resources and troubleshoot issues related to Hybrid AD/AAD configurations and automation scripts. To be considered, you’ll need a minimum three years’ experience in Azure, a minimum two years’ experience managing or mentoring a small IT team, and a minimum of five years’ experience in an IT/EUC support role. Apply for this job now.

Explore flexible tech roles all across the UK on the Growth Business job board

Kirstie McDermott works for our job board partner, Jobbio. Based in Dublin, she has been a writer and editor across print and digital platforms for over 15 years.

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