Work From Home Request Letter
Requests remote or hybrid working.
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Dear Sir / Madam,
I would like to request [pattern] working from home in my role as [designation].
The reason is: [reason].
I will remain contactable during working hours and will attend the office for anything that needs my presence. I am happy to trial the arrangement and review it after an agreed period.
What is a Work From Home Request Letter?
A work from home request letter asks your employer to let you work remotely — permanently, on set days, or for a defined period — and sets out how the work will still get done. In several countries a written request also starts a formal process with a deadline attached. Without one, remote working stays an informal arrangement that any new manager can withdraw without notice or explanation.
Employees write these when a commute becomes unworkable, when caring responsibilities change, after an injury or during recovery, when a partner relocates, and simply because the job can be done as well from elsewhere. Contractors occasionally use them where an engagement letter fixes a location. The most common version is not all-or-nothing: it asks for two or three fixed days at home, which is easier to approve than a wholesale change, easier to trial, and easier to reverse if it turns out not to work for the team.
Whether your request triggers a legal process depends on where you work. The UK has a statutory flexible working request regime with rules on who may apply and how the employer must handle it; Australia gives defined groups a right to request flexible arrangements under the Fair Work framework; several EU member states have their own remote or telework laws, with the Netherlands and Belgium among those having specific provisions. India has no general statutory right, so it turns on company policy. Look up the current rule and the qualifying conditions before relying on any of this.
The letter asks for a change to where you work. It does not change your hours, pay, duties or notice unless you ask for that separately, and it is not a substitute for childcare or sick leave — an employer is entitled to expect the work to be done. It does not remove health and safety duties, yours or the employer's, and it does not settle who pays for equipment, broadband or insurance. Nor does working from another country make itself lawful: cross-border remote work raises tax, social security and immigration questions a letter cannot answer.
What to put in a Work From Home 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 |
| Pattern requested | Free text |
| Reason | For example: My commute is over two hours each way, and the analysis part of my role is done better… |
| Your setup at home optional | For example: I have a dedicated workspace, a wired broadband connection and a company laptop. |
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Their address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
How to write a Work From Home Request Letter
Ask for a specific pattern, not flexibility
Say exactly what you want: ‘Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at home, Mondays and Fridays in the Leeds office, from 1 October.’ A named pattern can be put in a rota and tested. ‘Greater flexibility around where I work’ cannot be approved, because nobody knows what they would be approving, and nobody could tell later whether it was working.
Answer the coverage question first
Set out how the parts of your job that look office-dependent will work: who covers the desk phone, how you attend the Monday stand-up, when you will come in for client visits, how handovers happen. Managers refuse remote requests over a handful of concrete tasks. Naming those tasks and offering an answer for each moves the conversation from principle to logistics, where it can be settled.
Describe the actual working setup
State where you will work from, that you have a suitable desk and chair, a broadband connection that supports calls, and a way of keeping company information private in a shared household. If you handle personal data or client records, say how they will be secured and that you will follow the organisation's information security policy. This is what most employers need on file before approving anything.
Propose a trial with a review date
Offer three to six months with a written review, and say what you would both look at: response times, delivery against objectives, attendance at the meetings that genuinely need you in the room. A trial is far easier to approve than a permanent change, and it gives you a documented track record to point at when the review comes round, instead of a debate about principle.
Reference the policy or the legal route
If your employer has a flexible or hybrid working policy, name it and apply under it. If you are making a statutory request in a country that has one, say so, because that usually starts a clock the employer has to work to. Address the letter to your line manager, copy HR, date it and keep a copy — the date matters if a deadline applies.
Common mistakes
- Framing the request around your commute or your household rather than the work, so the employer hears a personal preference with no answer to how the job gets covered.
- Asking for open-ended flexibility instead of a defined pattern, which gives the manager nothing to approve and no way to review it later.
- Working from home informally for months and never getting it in writing, so a new manager can end the arrangement overnight and you have nothing to point to.
- Failing to mention data security when your role handles personal or client information, which gives a cautious employer an easy and entirely legitimate reason to refuse.
- Missing the employer's own flexible working form or portal, so a statutory request that would have started a deadline is treated as an informal chat.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have a legal right to work from home?
Generally no — but several countries give a right to request a change and require the employer to handle it properly. The UK, Australia and a number of EU member states each have their own regime, with different qualifying conditions and deadlines, and these have changed in recent years. India relies on employer policy. Check the current rule where you are employed before assuming either way.
How do I ask to work from home for medical reasons?
Say that the request relates to a health condition, and offer to provide medical evidence or be referred to occupational health, rather than putting a diagnosis in a letter that will circulate. Where a condition amounts to a disability, the employer may have a duty to consider adjustments under local equality or disability legislation — a separate and often stronger route than a general flexible working request.
Can my employer refuse a work from home request?
Yes in most cases, though where a statutory process applies the employer usually has to give reasons from a defined list and respond within a set period. Common grounds are extra cost, an effect on quality or performance, and an inability to reorganise work among existing staff. Ask for the refusal and the reason in writing, so you know what to address next time.
Who pays for equipment and broadband?
This varies by employer and by country. Some jurisdictions require employers to cover or contribute to necessary equipment and running costs for home workers, and some tax systems allow a deduction or an allowance instead. Do not assume either. Ask what the employer will provide, get the answer in writing, and check your national tax authority's current guidance on home working expenses.
Can I work from another country?
Not without checking first. Working from abroad, even temporarily, can create tax residence, social security, payroll registration and immigration issues for both you and your employer, and many employers refuse it for that reason alone. Ask before you book anything, and expect the answer to depend on the country, the length of stay and your nationality. That is a question for professional advice.
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.