Duty to consider requests for flexible working from the parents of young children
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.