Flexible Working Request Letter
Asks your employer to change your hours or pattern, in writing.
Details
flexible working request letterUploads
Your logo
A photo or picture
Goes on this page only. Drag it anywhere and pull its corner to resize it.
Your signature
Draw it with a finger, a mouse or a trackpad, and it goes on the page like a picture.
Pictures and signatures stay on this device. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
Red highlights mark what is still blank. Click anything on the page to change it. Your draft is kept on this device as you work.
Dear Sir / Madam,
I would like to ask for a change to my working pattern in my role as [role].
What I am asking for: [the pattern you want]
I would like it to start from [date].
On how the work would still get done: [how the work is covered]
I am happy to trial it for an agreed period first and review it with you honestly at the end. If there is a difficulty with this exact pattern, I would rather talk it through than have the request simply refused.
I have not made a previous request in the last twelve months.
What is a Flexible Working Request Letter?
A flexible working request is a written ask to change your hours, your days, your start and finish times, or where you work. Putting it in writing matters because in several countries a written request starts a formal process with a deadline attached, and because a manager cannot approve a pattern nobody has written down. A conversation in a corridor leaves no record of what was asked, or when.
Employees send these for caring responsibilities, health, study, commuting cost, a phased return after long leave, or simply because the work fits a different shape. They go to the line manager, usually copied to HR, and in larger organisations through a form or an HR system. Managers and HR also need to recognise one when it arrives: a message that names a pattern and asks for a decision is a request, whether or not it was submitted on the official template.
The legal frame varies. In the UK there is a statutory right to request flexible working, with rules on eligibility, how many requests you may make in a year and how quickly the employer must respond — those rules have changed more than once, so check the current position on gov.uk or with ACAS. Australia's Fair Work Act gives certain employees a right to request; check the current eligibility list. The EU's work-life balance rules are implemented differently in each member state. In the US there is no general federal right, though scheduling laws exist in some cities and states.
This is not a grievance, and it is not a disability accommodation request. If the change you need is because of a disability or a health condition, there is usually a separate and stronger route — reasonable adjustments in the UK, ADA accommodation in the US, comparable duties in Canada and Australia — and it is worth asking HR which route applies to you. A request also does not change your contract on its own: until the employer confirms new terms in writing, your existing terms stand.
What to put in a Flexible Working Request Letter
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issuing organisation | For example: Maple Grove Homeowners Association |
| Organisation address | For example: 1420 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Designation | For example: Senior Assistant |
| The pattern you are asking for | For example: Start at 08:00 and finish at 16:00, Monday to Friday, instead of 09:00 to 17:00. |
| You would like it to start | Free text |
| Why you are asking optional | For example: It would let me collect my daughter from school, which currently means paying for… |
| How the work would still get done | For example: The queue is quietest after 15:00, so the hour I would lose is the least busy. I would… |
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Their address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
How to write a Flexible Working Request Letter
Say plainly that this is a formal request
Open with one sentence naming it: a formal flexible working request under your employer's policy and, where a statutory scheme applies, under that scheme. This matters administratively. In some systems the response clock starts on the day a valid request is received, and a message that reads as a chat about possibilities may never be logged as a request at all.
Describe the exact pattern you want
Write it the way a rota would: 'Tuesday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:30, working from home on Wednesdays, starting 6 April'. That can be approved as written. 'Some flexibility around school pickup' cannot — the manager has to invent a version, and the version they invent will not be yours. Name the days, the hours, the location and the start date.
Set out the effect on the work
State honestly what changes for colleagues and customers, then say how it is covered. If Monday cover is the problem, name who has agreed to take the Monday standup or explain how you will handle it. Employers refuse these on business grounds; a request that has already answered the obvious business grounds is much harder to refuse and much faster to approve.
Offer a trial period and a review date
Propose a defined trial — three months is common — with a date to review it and agreed measures: response times, output, cover in place. A trial lets a cautious manager say yes to something reversible instead of no to something permanent. Make clear whether the arrangement becomes permanent automatically at the end of the trial or needs confirming, so nobody is surprised in month four.
Date it and ask for a written decision
Put the date on the request, keep your own copy, and ask for the outcome in writing, including any agreed variation to your contract. If it is refused, ask for the business reason relied on and whether there is an appeal step. A written trail is what you need if you later want to request again, appeal, or point back to what was agreed.
Common mistakes
- Asking for 'more flexibility' without naming days and hours, so the manager has nothing they can actually approve.
- Leaving out the start date, so the request sits in a drawer with no deadline attached to it.
- Explaining your personal reasons at length but never addressing how the work gets covered, which hands the employer the business ground it needs to refuse.
- Sending it as a chat message to a colleague rather than in writing to your manager, so it is never logged and no response deadline ever starts.
- Treating an agreed trial as a permanent change without written confirmation, then finding the old pattern reinstated the week the trial lapses.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a flexible working request?
State that it is a formal request, describe the exact pattern including days, hours, location and start date, explain how the work will be covered, offer a trial with a review date, and date the letter. Keep it to one page. The parts that get requests approved are the specific pattern and the coverage plan, not the personal explanation.
Can my employer say no to flexible working?
In most systems that have a right to request, it is a right to ask and to have the request properly considered — not a right to get the change. Employers can normally refuse for defined business reasons, such as cost, effect on quality, or an inability to reorganise work. Check what grounds your jurisdiction or your employer's policy allows, and ask for the reason in writing.
How long does an employer have to respond to a flexible working request?
Where a statutory scheme applies there is usually a set period, and it has been changed in some countries in recent years, so check the current figure with your national employment authority rather than relying on a number you read a while ago. Where no statutory scheme applies, your employer's own policy sets the timescale — ask HR what it says.
What reasons can an employer give to reject a flexible working request?
Typically business grounds: extra cost, an inability to reorganise work among existing staff, an inability to recruit more staff, a detrimental effect on quality, performance or the ability to meet customer demand, or insufficient work during the periods you propose to work. The exact list depends on your jurisdiction and your employer's policy — ask which ground was relied on and why.
Can I appeal if my flexible working request is refused?
Many employers offer an appeal stage even where the law does not require one, and some statutory schemes build one in. Ask HR what the next step is and whether there is a time limit for appealing. An appeal works best when it addresses the specific business ground given — for example by proposing a narrower pattern, a longer trial, or different cover.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.