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The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Alexandra Topping Political correspondent
Louise Haigh announced new rights at a TUC conference in Brighton, stating that employers must meet with employees who request flexible working and provide reasons if they refuse. Currently, employers only need to consider requests reasonably but will now be required to discuss refusals face-to-face. Haigh praised unions for their efforts in improving workers' rights and emphasized the Labour Party's commitment to supporting working people.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Claims extracted
18
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 18 hedged
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject
Correction & hedging signals
94.6
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Story summary
Labour, led by Louise Haigh, pledged to strengthen workers' rights to flexible working during the annual meeting of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Tuesday. Under the proposed changes, employees would have more power to request work-from-home options and flexible hours from their employers. Employers would need to justify any refusals through a face-to-face meeting with the employee. This move comes amid criticism that Labour is catering too closely to union demands. Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, praised the government's recognition of flexible working’s importance. Currently, all employees have a legal right to request flexible working, but the new rules would require employers to seriously consider these requests and meet with workers who make them.
Written for “Flexible Working Rights Strengthened” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.65 for article 12153 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-15
Company bosses will have to sit down with workers who request flexible working and justify their reasons for any refusals under new rights announced by Louise Haigh on Tuesday.
asserted
who → have → Tuesday
The first secretary of state told the TUC conference that employers would have to “properly consider” requests for flexibility and offer a face-to-face meeting under new rights for workers.
asserted
employers → tell → workers
Speaking to trade union representatives in Brighton, she said: “Life isn’t always as neat as we’d like it to be or as employers would like it to be.
asserted
it → speak → Brighton
There’s kids to pick up, parents to look after, families who rely on us at short notice.
asserted
who → ’ → notice
“And sometimes a little bit of flexibility can make all the difference.
asserted
bit → make → difference
Now I know that businesses have to make things work too.
asserted
things → know → ?
Not every job can be done from home and not every request can be agreed.
asserted
request → do → home
“But every request can be taken seriously.
asserted
request → take → ?
So today I can announce that we will strengthen the right to flexible working.
asserted
we → announce → working
If an employer wants to turn down a request they will have to sit down with their employee, properly consider it and explain why.
asserted
they → want → it
Under current rules all employees have a legal right to request flexible working which employers must consider in a “reasonable manner”, but the new rules would entail bosses sitting down with employees and explaining the reason behind their decision.
asserted
bosses → have → decision
Haigh also praised unions for their work campaigning for the Employment Rights Act, which introduced significant new rights for workers on sick pay, parental leave and zero-hours contracts.
asserted
which → praise → pay
She said: “Because of you, working people have had the biggest uplift in their rights in a generation.
asserted
people → say → generation
Changes that won’t just transform lives today … but the lives of our children and our grandchildren.”
asserted
that → transform → children
In a speech that was pointedly warm towards unions, some of whom were openly critical of the former prime minister Keir Starmer, she said that Andy Burnham understood that “the strength of our movement is drawn from our roots in the trade unions”.
asserted
strength → say → unions
She added: “We need to go further and faster to deliver the scale of change the country expect.
asserted
country → add → change
Whether it was standing up for workers illegally sacked by P&O Ferries … Or changing public procurement to create more good jobs here in Britain.
asserted
it → stand → Britain
We are proudly on the side of working people.”
asserted
We → work → people
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