Employees across the UK will be given even more flexible work arrangements as the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill receives royal assent.

The bill had completed all the parliamentary stages in both houses and was granted royal assent, making the bill into an Act of Parliament (law).

The Act will require employers to consider and discuss any requests made by their employees within two months of a request. Employees will have the right to two requests a year.

Business and trade minister Kevin Hollinrake said, "A happier workforce means increased productivity, and that's why we're backing measures to give people across the UK even more flexibility over where and when they work."

Hollinrake added, "Not only does flexible working help individuals fit work alongside other commitments, whether it's the school drop off, studying or caring for vulnerable friends and family, it's good business sense too, helping firms to attract more talent, increase retention and improve workforce diversity."

Workers will benefit from the following new protections once in force:

• New requirements for employers to consult with the employee before rejecting their flexible working request.
• Permission to make two statutory requests in any 12-month period (rather than the current one request).
• Reduced waiting times for decisions to be made(within which an employer administers the statutory request) from three months to two months.
• The removal of existing requirements that, the employee must explain what effect, if any, the change applied for would have on the employer and how that effect might be dealt with.

Alongside the measures in the bill, millions of workers will be given the right to request flexible working from day one of a new job. This will bring an estimated 2.2 million more employees in scope of the entitlement following a change in regulations, the government stated.

The government also announced that it is launching a call for evidence on non-statutory flexible working to improve knowledge of the extent of flexibility in the labour market. The aim is to increase understanding of the role of informal flexible working in meeting the needs of both employers and employees.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) will update its statutory Code of Practice following a consultation launched on 12 July. The Code aims to provide employers, employees and representatives with a clear explanation of the law on the statutory right to request flexible working, alongside good practice advice on handling requests in a reasonable manner.

"Our new draft Code encourages employers to take a positive approach to flexible working and addresses all the new changes in the Act," Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews said. "We are keen to get views to ensure that it is clear and relevant for the modern workplace."

Chief executive of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) and chair of the government's Flexible Working Taskforce, Peter Cheese, said, "Many organisations are facing the dual challenges of skills shortages and talent retention issues, and we know that offering flexible working can go a long way towards tackling these problems."