The right to request flexible working arrangements under EU law: Lessons from a Hungarian case

Flexible working conditions are a fundamental expectation of modern employment, and legislators are increasingly recognizing this while taking employees’ personal circumstances into account. To support the workers with caring responsibilities, the EU adopted the Work-Life Balance Directive, Article 9 of which establishes a formal right to request such flexible working arrangements. Due to this formality, the Directive has faced sharp criticism, and the burden has fallen on Member States to provide substantive guarantees. In 2026, a decision made by Hungarian courts addressed a case where a nationwide employer denied a request for flexible working arrangements. Following the critiques of the Article 9, this study analyses the case, highlighting the specifics of the Hungarian implementation of the Directive and the risks that remain.