Flexible working

Flexible working is a work arrangement that changes when, where, or how long someone works.

In the UK, this is not just general workplace vocabulary. Employees have a day-one right to request flexible working, even though the employer does not have to grant every request. The term can cover remote work, compressed hours, part-time patterns, or shift choice, but in UK employment law it also names that formal request process.

For shift-based teams, the practical question is whether flexibility changes the rota itself, the place of work, or the hours around a fixed pattern.

Related: Rota, Zero-hours contract.