In 2024, with childcare costs soaring, ‘presenteeism’ souring workplace relations and sky-rocketing levels of employee burnout, the need for flexible working has never been more apparent. 

Giving people flexibility over where and when they work is not a perk; it’s a necessity. And if the success (and inevitable controversy) of the various four-day working week trials has taught us anything, it’s that flexible working should be a key focus for political parties ahead of the general election on 4 July.

But just what changes (if any) are the four major parties promising? And what will they mean for you?

None of the parties have released their official manifestos yet, but they have started outlining some policy proposals ahead of the election. After studying what the Conservative, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties have said about their plans for flexible working, Stylist breaks down exactly what each party has pledged to date.

In the 2019 election, the Conservative party committed to “encourage flexible working and consult on making flexible working the default unless employers have good reasons not to”. A new law subsequently came into effect this April, meaning that all employees now have the right to ask to work flexibly from their first day of employment. 

However, it’s worth noting that many believe this new legislation falls short. There is still no legal obligation for employers to allow flexible working, and requests can be rejected on the same basis as before the regulations were updated. The Conservatives have yet to announce any plans to expand on their previous legislation.

As part of Labour’s “plan to make work pay”, published on the party’s website shortly after the general election was called (which suggests its measures are likely to appear in the official manifesto), it has pledged to help workers benefit further from flexible working. 

Keir Starmer’s party says it would make flexible working “the default from day one for all workers, except where it is not reasonably feasible”. This would include “ensuring there are opportunities for flexi-time contracts and hours that better accommodate school terms where they are not currently available”. However, “where it is not reasonably feasible” is open to interpretation; it remains to be seen how and if this policy would actually work in practice.

Labour has also promised to ban “exploitative” zero-hour contracts, as a way of “ending ‘one sided’ flexibility and ensuring all jobs provide a baseline level of security and predictability”.

Last year, the Lib Dems proposed a new Workers Charter, which would include “modern protections for a modern workforce including fairer flexible working rights”. As part of these proposals, the party committed to changing the law so that flexible working is open to all from day one in the job. 

Reports suggest the party also hopes to bring in legislation to invest in skills development to address recruitment shortages. But until the manifesto is released, we don’t know exactly what the Lib Dems’ latest flexible working plans will look like. 

Under the Greens’ latest proposed policies, all employers will be expected to agree flexible working arrangements for those with family and caring commitments, and/or to permit workers to fulfil their hours over a four-day week, “unless the work is such that distributing duties in such ways is clearly impossible or harmful”. 

The party has also said it will reduce the full-time working week to 32 hours (from the current standard of 35) “in the medium term”. It’s not clear exactly what these timelines would look like, but the party says that in the medium term, workers will also have a right to request these reduced hours “at no loss of pay and without detriment”. 

The Greens also say they will develop pilot schemes and “effective support” to help small and medium-sized businesses and public sector institutions transition to a shorter worker week.

Images: Getty