If a medical report recommends some kind of flexible working and the employer claims they cannot provide it - what are the consequences?

The main considerations here are whether the employee suffers from a disability and whether the employer is under a duty to make a reasonable adjustment for the employee, such as offering some kind of flexible working.

The employee will have a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out day to day activities.

The employer will be under a duty to make a reasonable adjustment for the disabled employee if any "provision, criteria or practice" – broadly, any arrangement of the employer, or any physical feature of its premises - places the disabled employee at a substantial disadvantage in