Section 80G: Employer's duties in relation to application under section 80F, Employment Rights Act 1996

An employer to whom an application under section 80F is made—

shall deal with the application in a reasonable manner,

shall not refuse the application unless the employee has been consulted about the application,

shall notify the employee of the decision on the application within the decision period, and

shall only refuse the application because he considers that one or more of the following grounds applies—

the burden of additional costs,

detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand,

inability to re-organise work among existing staff,

inability to recruit additional staff,

detrimental impact on quality,

detrimental impact on performance,

insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work,

planned structural changes, and

such other grounds as the Secretary of State may specify by regulations.

may refuse the application only if—

the employer considers that the application should be refused on a ground or grounds listed in subsection (1ZA), and

it is reasonable for the employer to refuse the application on that ground or those grounds.

The grounds mentioned in subsection (1)(b) are—

the burden of additional costs;

detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand;

inability to re-organise work among existing staff;

inability to recruit additional staff;

detrimental impact on quality;

detrimental impact on performance;

insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work;

planned structural changes;

any other grounds specified by the Secretary of State in regulations.

If an employer refuses an application under section 80F, the notification under subsection (1)(aa) must—

state the ground or grounds for refusing the application, and

explain why the employer considers that it is reasonable to refuse the application on that ground or those grounds.

If an employer allows an employee to appeal a decision to reject an application, the reference in subsection (1)(aa) to the decision on the application is a reference to—

the decision on the appeal, or

if more than one appeal is allowed, the decision on the final appeal.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(aa) the decision period applicable to an employee's application under section 80F is—

the period of two months beginning with the date on which the application is made, or

such longer period as may be agreed by the employer and the employee.

An agreement to extend the decision period in a particular case may be made—

before it ends, or

with retrospective effect, before the end of a period of three months beginning with the day after that on which the decision period that is being extended came to an end.

An application under section 80F is to be treated as having been withdrawn by the employee if—

the employee without good reason has failed to attend both the first meeting arranged by the employer to discuss the application and the next meeting arranged for that purpose, or

where the employer allows the employee to appeal a decision to reject an application or to make a further appeal, the employee without good reason has failed to attend both the first meeting arranged by the employer to discuss the appeal and the next meeting arranged for that purpose,

and the employer has notified the employee that the employer has decided to treat that conduct of the employee as a withdrawal of the application.

The steps which an employer must take in order to comply with subsection (1)(aza) include, among others, any steps specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

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Section 80G: Employer's duties in relation to application under section 80F

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