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If several employees request a change to homeworking or hybrid working and not all can be accommodated, there is no clear answer as to who should have priority. Preference should be given to those employees who have statutory rights to be considered; for example, workers with disabilities, those eligible under the flexible working legislation and those who might have a discrimination claim (although this does not mean that the employer should automatically prioritise women, as this would in itself constitute sex discrimination against men). As between these groups, the priorities will depend on the exact circumstances including the type of work and whether working from home is necessary or merely convenient. A disabled worker may often have first priority, at least if this is the only reasonable way for them to carry on working. It would be a reasonable adjustment to give them priority and the employer should be able to defend claims from other staff who cannot be accommodated as a result.
There is generally no obligation to disturb any pre-existing homeworking or hybrid working arrangements, even if this makes it more difficult to accommodate requests from employees with statutory protection. In some circumstances, it would be appropriate to ask an existing homeworker to revert to workplace-based working if that would allow a disabled employee to return to work when they could not otherwise do so. However, it would rarely be appropriate to insist.
In the case of two competing requests under the flexible working legislation (or from two employees with no statutory rights) then, unless there is a good business reason to differentiate between the two, an employer can only be expected to deal with requests in order of receipt. The employer should consider each request fairly and without discrimination, take reasonable steps to accommodate requests and could consider establishing a waiting list.
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