How to Make a Statutory Flexible Working Request

To make a statutory flexible-working request in England, Scotland or Wales, send your employer a dated email, letter or required internal form. The GOV.UK application checklist requires you to identify it as a statutory request, describe the proposed hours, working times or location, give the intended start date, and state whether and when you made a previous application.

This is a right to request, not a guaranteed right to remote, hybrid or altered hours. Employees in Great Britain have the right from their first day of employment, while the Acas statutory-request guidance says employers must consult before refusing unless they accept the proposal in full and must make a final decision, including any appeal, within two months.

Check which UK rules apply to you

The procedure in most of this guide applies to England, Scotland and Wales. It is available to people with employee status; you do not need to be a parent or carer. A contractual label does not always determine employment status, so check your contract and seek individual advice if you are described as self-employed, an agency worker, a casual worker or a worker rather than an employee.

Northern Ireland has a separate statutory framework. Its official flexible-working guidance says an employee generally needs 26 weeks of continuous service and must not have made another statutory application during the previous 12 months. It also requires the application to address the likely effect on the employer, so employees there should follow that procedure rather than the Great Britain checklist and deadlines.

Choose between a statutory and an informal request

Use the statutory route when you are eligible and want the legal procedure and its protections to apply. In Great Britain, an employee may submit two statutory applications in any 12-month period, but only one request can remain live at a time. Settle the main details before using one of those applications.

An informal request can be useful for an urgent adjustment, an exploratory trial or a change that the employer is willing to approve outside the statutory process. It does not carry the statutory decision timetable or the specific protections attached to a statutory flexible-working request. Ask for the outcome and agreed terms in writing even if the discussion begins informally.

Check the employer’s policy before choosing. A workplace arrangement may offer a faster process, additional requests or broader eligibility, and the employer may require submission through an HR platform or standard form. A preliminary conversation with a manager does not replace the written application when you intend to use the statutory route.

Turn your preferred arrangement into a workable schedule

Describe a pattern that someone could enter into a rota or employment contract. “I would like more flexibility” is not specific enough. State the proposed days, hours, work locations, core availability and, where relevant, the period for which the arrangement would operate.

Remote or hybrid work: identify the proposed remote days, the normal workplace on other days and how essential in-person duties would be handled.
Compressed hours: state the total contractual hours and how you propose to distribute the same hours across fewer days. Do not call a reduction in total hours compression.
Flexitime: give the proposed core hours, the permitted start and finish range, and how working time would be recorded.
Reduced or part-time hours: specify the new total and weekly pattern. A reduction in contractual hours will normally require corresponding changes to pay and may affect other contractual benefits.

Choose a start date that leaves time for consultation and implementation. If timing is critical, work backwards from the statutory decision period rather than assuming the change will begin immediately after submission.

State whether the change is temporary or permanent

Remove any ambiguity about duration. If the employer accepts the requested terms as a permanent arrangement, those terms become part of the employment contract; you should not assume an automatic right to return to the previous pattern.

For a temporary proposal, state the start date, end date and the terms that should apply afterwards. For example: “I request this pattern from 1 November until 30 April, after which my current contractual pattern will resume unless we agree otherwise in writing.” Make sure the employer’s written acceptance records the same dates and reversion terms.

A trial period is different from an agreed fixed-term change. A trial lets both sides evaluate a possible arrangement before deciding its longer-term status. Propose a length, review date, relevant measures, notice arrangements and the pattern that will apply if the trial is not confirmed.

Include every required item

For a Great Britain statutory request, include all of the following in the written application:

the date of the request;
a clear statement that it is a statutory request for flexible working;
the exact change requested to hours, working times or place of work;
the date on which you want the change to begin;
whether you have made a previous statutory flexible-working application to this employer and, if so, when.

You are not required under the Great Britain procedure to explain the effect on the employer or propose solutions, although Northern Ireland’s procedure is different. A short operational plan can still make the proposal easier to assess. You may explain your personal reason if you choose, but eligibility in Great Britain is not limited to parents or carers.

Address the request to the person named in the workplace policy, usually a manager or HR contact. Use a submission channel that creates a reliable record, retain the complete request and attachments, and save any delivery or platform confirmation.

Use this annotated request template

Employee and manager assess how a proposed flexible schedule would maintain coverage, handovers and customer service.

Replace every bracketed instruction before sending and remove the annotations. Tailor the optional operational paragraph to your actual role.

Subject: Statutory flexible working request

Dear [manager or HR contact],

I am writing to make a statutory request for flexible working. [This identifies the legal procedure.]

The date of this request is [submission date].

I request the following change to my working arrangement: [state exact hours, days, work locations and any core availability]. I would like the change to begin on [proposed start date]. [For compressed hours, include the unchanged total weekly hours; for flexitime, give the core-hours window; for hybrid work, identify remote and workplace days.]

[Choose one:] I have not previously made a statutory flexible-working application to this employer. / I previously made a statutory flexible-working application on [date].

[For a permanent request:] I am requesting this as a permanent change to my terms and conditions.

[For a temporary request:] I request this arrangement from [start date] to [end date], after which my current contractual pattern will resume unless we agree another arrangement in writing.

[Optional operational proposal:] I propose to maintain coverage by [specific method]. I would remain available for [meetings, customers or handovers] during [times]. We could assess the arrangement using [existing service, output or deadline measures]. If helpful, I am willing to discuss [a defined trial or practical alternative].

Please confirm receipt and let me know the next step in the consultation process.

Yours sincerely,

[name]

Keep the operational paragraph credible. Do not promise permanent availability outside the hours you are proposing or volunteer unpaid work to make the request appear easier to approve.

Prepare for the consultation

An accepted flexible working request is converted into clear contractual terms with a start date, duration and review point.

Review the proposal from the perspective of the person scheduling the work. Bring accurate information about your responsibilities and offer solutions you can control instead of claiming that the change will have no operational effect.

Coverage: identify how urgent work could be handled when you are unavailable, without assigning duties to a colleague who has not agreed.
Customer demand: compare the schedule with known busy periods and consider an alternative that preserves essential cover.
Collaboration: define predictable overlap for meetings, handovers and decisions rather than relying on continuous messaging.
Performance: connect the proposal to existing outputs, deadlines or service measures. Do not invent productivity estimates.
Security and equipment: for home or hybrid work, ask which approved equipment, workspace, confidentiality and data-handling requirements apply.
Cost: distinguish necessary expenditure from preferences and check whether existing resources could support the arrangement.

Prepare a fallback that still meets your essential need, such as different remote days, a narrower flexitime window, a staggered start or a defined trial. Present it as an option for consultation, not as permission to disregard the original request.

Record the decision and any agreed terms

If the employer accepts the request, ask for written confirmation of the working pattern, effective date and whether the change is permanent, temporary or a trial. Check any effect on contracted hours, salary, workplace location, holiday calculation, equipment and availability expectations.

If the employer accepts only part of the proposal or suggests an alternative, clarify that this is a variation still under discussion. Record exactly what has been agreed before changing your working pattern, particularly where the outcome includes a trial, review point or automatic return to previous terms.

If an extension to the decision period would help the consultation, agree a new deadline explicitly and keep the agreement in writing. Do not let an informal discussion create uncertainty about whether the original statutory request remains active.

Respond to a refusal promptly

A refusal must be based on a permitted business reason. Compare the explanation with the schedule you submitted and the matters discussed during consultation. Ask focused questions if the decision relies on an incorrect fact, overlooks a proposed solution or fails to explain why a practical alternative would not work.

Check the employer’s policy immediately for an appeal process and its deadline. If an appeal is available, identify the specific error, missing information or alternative you want reviewed; any appeal remains within the overall statutory decision period unless you and the employer agree an extension.

A tribunal does not simply decide which working arrangement it prefers. A possible claim may instead concern the statutory procedure, incorrect facts, detriment or separate discrimination law. Seek prompt individual advice from Acas, a trade union, Citizens Advice or an employment adviser if the refusal may engage legal rights.

Complete the final check before submitting

Confirm that the request names the statutory process, carries the actual submission date, gives an exact arrangement and start date, and records any previous statutory application. Then check the proposed duration, operational plan, correct recipient and submission method required by the employer’s policy.

Your final step is to test the proposal against a normal working week: identify when colleagues, customers or systems require your involvement and how work would move when you are unavailable. That gives the consultation a concrete starting point while preserving the distinction between a persuasive proposal and guaranteed approval.

How to Make a Statutory Flexible Working Request in the UK