On 25 October 2023, Acas launched a consultation on its new draft statutory Code of Practice on handling requests for predictable working patterns. This is in expectation of the implementation of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act in autumn 2024.
This Act will give certain individuals, such as those on zero hour contracts and agency workers, the right to request more certainty around their working patterns. Acas’s proposed Code of Practice aims to help both businesses and workers understand this new law and sets out good practice on making and responding to these requests.
The process suggested for dealing with requests for more predictable working patterns is as follows:
- a meeting should be held to discuss the request (allowing the employee to be accompanied);
- employees should be informed of the outcome of their request in writing and within a month of the request being made (whether it be an initial request or an appeal);
- an employee’s request may only be rejected for one of the statutory reasons set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996;
- the employee should be allowed to appeal;
- if an employee’s contract ends within the one-month decision period, their request must still be handled reasonably and the outcome confirmed within the one-month period; and
- where an employee’s request is accepted, a new contract of employment must be offered within two weeks.
The consultation, which closes on 17 January 2024, requests views on both the draft Code of Practice and the other non-statutory guidance that Acas plans to produce.
