13B.—(1) The following may request a flexible working arrangement:

(a) an employee who is a relevant parent of a child and who is or will be providing care to that child for the purpose of providing care to that child;

(b) an employee who is or will be providing personal care or support to a person to whom this paragraph applies for the purpose of providing such care or support to that person.

(2) Subsection (1)(b) applies to a person who—

(a) is one of the following:

(i) a person of whom the employee is the relevant parent;

(ii) the spouse or civil partner of the employee;

(iii) the cohabitant of the employee;

(iv) a parent or grandparent of the employee;

(v) a brother or sister of the employee;

(vi) a person, other than one specified in any of subparagraphs (i) to (v), who resides in the same household as the employee,

and

(b) is in need of significant care or support for a serious medical reason.

(3) A flexible working arrangement for the care of a child referred to in subsection (1)(a) shall end—

(a) subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), not later than the day on which the child concerned has attained the age of 12 years,

(b) subject to paragraph (c), in the case of a child who—

(i) is the subject of an adoption order, and

(ii) has, on or before the date of the making of that order, attained the age of 10 years but not 12 years,

not later than the expiration of the period of 2 years beginning on that date, or

(c) if the child concerned has a disability or a long-term illness, as defined in section 6(9), not later than the date on which the child—

(i) attains the age of 16 years, or

(ii) ceases to have that disability or long-term illness or any other disability or long-term illness,

whichever first occurs.

(4) An employee’s approved flexible working arrangement shall not commence before a time when the employee concerned has completed 6 months continuous employment with the employer concerned.

(5) For the purposes of this section, where an employee ceases to be the employee of an employer and, not more than 26 weeks after the date of cesser, the employee again becomes the employee of the employer, the period of service of that employee with that employer before the date of cesser shall be deemed to be continuous with the period of service of that employee with that employer after again becoming such employee.

(6) A request for a flexible working arrangement referred to in subsection (1) shall—

(a) be in writing and signed by the employee,

(b) specify the form of the flexible working arrangement requested and the date of commencement and duration of the flexible working arrangement, and

(c) be submitted to his or her employer as soon as reasonably practicable but not later than 8 weeks before the proposed commencement of the flexible working arrangement.

(7) An employee who has submitted a request in accordance with subsection (6) to his or her employer shall, if the employer so requests, furnish to the employer such information as the employer may reasonably require in relation to the person in respect of whom the request is made, including—

(a) in the case of a child referred to in subsection (1)(a), a copy of the child’s birth certificate or a certificate of placement within the meaning of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 , or

(b) in the case of a person referred to in subsection (1)(b)—

(i) the employee’s relationship with the person in respect of whom the request is made,

(ii) the nature of the significant care or support which the person concerned is in need of, and

(iii) relevant evidence relating to the need of the person for the significant care or support concerned.

(8) Before the date on which an agreement referred to in section 13C(1)(b)(i) is signed by the employer and the employee, the employee may, by notice in writing signed by him or her and given to the employer, withdraw a request submitted in accordance with subsection (6) by him or her.

(9) In subsection (7)(b)(iii), "relevant evidence", in relation to the person for whom the care or support is to be provided, means—

(a) a medical certificate—

(i) stating that the person named in the certificate is in need of significant care or support for a serious medical reason, and

(ii) signed by a registered medical practitioner within the meaning of section 2 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007,

or

(b) if the employee does not have a medical certificate referred to in paragraph (a), such evidence as the employer concerned may reasonably require in order to show that the person concerned is in need of significant care or support for a serious medical reason.]