From today, every worker in Scotland will have the right to ask their employer for more flexible working conditions.

It may be that the worker wants a change to their hours, or the time they start and finish; it may be that they would like to work from home or share their job with someone else. Whatever it is, from today, any employee with more than 26 weeks' continuous service has the right to ask for the change and employers have a duty to give it reasonable consideration.

The reform, championed by the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government, represents a significant change to the law, and could precipitate a shift in the culture of the British workplace. Before today, it was only employees with children or carers who had this right, but the new law radically extends it, partly in the belief that flexible working boosts staff morale and partly in the hope that it could boost productivity as well. Jo Swinson, the business minister, has also suggested extending the right to flexible working could break down tensions in some workplaces around the perception that parents are getting a better deal than non-parents.

However, the change in the law has not been without its critics. The CBI has said flexible working will not be practical for all firms and employers must be able to decide each case on its merits, although it should be remembered the legislation does not give employees the right to flexible working but the right to request it.

What it also does is place a responsibility on employers to consider the request in a reasonable manner and a firm cannot reject a request out of hand. Indeed, there are eight specific grounds for turning down a worker who asks to work flexibly, including costs and the inability to reorganise work among staff, and, if a firm does turn down a request, it must make it clear which reason or reasons it is relying on.

What impact these changes will have on business and working practices is hard to predict. According to the UK Government, the costs to firms of £39.8 million will be outweighed by the potential benefits to business of £55.8m, although this should be treated with the caution due to all economic projections. It is also uncertain how many employees will apply, although the Government has forecast 182,000 requests a year.

However true these estimates turn out to be, the law is a change for the better and has the potential to retune the work/life balance for thousands of workers in the UK. On the face of it, an employer may see flexible working as a threat but an employee who can combine their work with more training, or time to look after their grandchildren, will be a happier employee and happier employees are more likely to stay in their jobs.

Of course, employees will have to be reasonable too and understand that an employer has to balance a request for flexible working with the firm's business needs. But there is also a valuable and much-needed chance in the new law for businesses to bring the modern workplace more in line with the needs and choices of the people who work there.