209.The impact of the duty to consider requests for flexible working will depend on how many parents exercise the right and how employers respond. A central estimate of take-up suggests that there could be over 500,000 additional requests each year for flexible working and that about 80% of these will be accepted or a compromise reached. This means that hundreds of thousands of working parents and their families benefit from an improved family life. The economy also benefits – savings in recruitment costs alone are valued at £113 million. However, processing requests and accommodating them is not costless. One-off implementation costs are estimated to be £38 million with annual recurring costs of £286 million.
Summary of Regulatory Impact Assessment Duty to consider requests for flexible working from the parents of young children