Letter to Request Flexible Working

This is a letter that can be used to notify an employer of an employee's statutory request for flexible working. It can be used to request any change to working arrangements including:

• a change in hours
• a change in days worked
• a change in shifts
• a change in location of work
• a move to work at home for all or part of the week

If a person has worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks, is not an agency worker and has not made a request within the prior 12 months, they are eligible to make a statutory request. If they are not, they may still make a request but the employer may not consider it. Where a person is an agency worker, they may only make a statutory request if they have recently returned from a period of parental leave. However, where an agency worker has not returned from parental leave, they may still use this document to request flexible working. This document can be used by employees or agency workers in either set of circumstances.

The letter can be amended to reflect any change requested and satisfies all of the requirements in the case of a statutory request.

How this letter should be used

This letter should be signed and sent to the employer. In most circumstances it should be addressed to the employee's manager or a representative of HR.

Once the letter has been received by an employer they should respond in line with any policy they have for dealing with requests. A copy of this letter should be kept by the employee for their own records.

Applicable law

Employment Rights Act 1996

Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

Help from a lawyer

You can choose to consult a lawyer if you need help.

The lawyer can answer your questions or help you through the process. You will be offered this option when you complete the document.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.