Flexible Working and Employee Benefits in 2026: What UK Employers Need to Know
Flexible working is now a day one right. Here is what that means for your benefits strategy and what mid-market employers should do about it.
Employee Benefits Guides
HR & People Operations Guides for Growing UK Businesses
Flexible working rights, benefits communication, and how to approach people strategy without a dedicated HR function.
2 guides in this category
People operations at a growing UK business looks different from HR at a large enterprise. The same employment law obligations apply, but without a specialist team to navigate them.
Benefits communication, flexible working rights, and building a people strategy without dedicated headcount are practical challenges that affect employers long before they are large enough to hire a Head of People. These guides focus on those challenges: why benefits packages fail when employees do not know about them, what flexible working rights mean for how you structure your offer, and how to approach people strategy as a founder or manager without specialist support.
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HR and People Ops
The Hidden Cost of a Benefits Package Nobody Uses
An employer puts together what they think is a solid benefits package. Six months later, an employee hands in their notice mentioning feeling undervalued. The disconnect is almost never about what is on offer.
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Frequently asked questions
- What are UK employees' flexible working rights?
- Since 6 April 2024, all employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment (previously they had to wait 26 weeks). Employers can still decline requests on one of eight statutory grounds, but must respond within two months. Employees can make two flexible working requests per year. These rights apply to requests about hours, times, and place of work.
- Why do employees not use their benefits?
- The most common reasons are: employees do not know the benefit exists, they do not understand how to access it, or they signed up at onboarding and never revisited it. Research consistently shows that a significant proportion of UK employees cannot name all of the benefits available to them. Regular communication, clear guidance documents, and manager briefings make the biggest difference to awareness and utilisation.
- Do I need a dedicated HR team to manage employee benefits?
- No. Most UK SMEs with up to 100 employees manage benefits with a part-time HR responsibility or with the founder or Office Manager. The keys to doing it well without specialist headcount are: a short annual review cycle, a clear record of what you offer and when each contract renews, and a communication plan so employees know what they have. A benefits broker can significantly reduce the administrative burden.
