Can I Request Flexible Working in England, Wales and Scotland?

Who this guide is for

Employees in England, Wales or Scotland who want to ask their employer to change their hours, the times they work or where they work, or whose request has been turned down or not answered.

What this guide does not cover

• Work in Northern Ireland: see the Northern Ireland guide. Its rules are different.
• A change to your hours or place of work as a reasonable adjustment for a disability: see our reasonable adjustments guide. Changes for menopause symptoms: see our menopause guide.
• Maternity leave and pay: see our maternity pay guide. Other time off and your other rights at work: see our employee rights guide.
• Your employer changing your hours or place of work without your agreement: see our fire and rehire guide.
• Whether a refusal is discrimination, and what a tribunal can award for discrimination. This guide does not cover discrimination claims: ask Acas.

What the rules depend on

1. Are you an employee? The right to make a statutory request is for employees. You might be an employee even if your contract says you are self-employed. You might not be an employee if, for example, you work through an agency or you are not guaranteed any work. Anyone can still ask informally.
2. Have you made a request in the last 12 months? You can make 2 statutory requests in any 12-month period. You cannot make a new one while an earlier one is still being dealt with.
3. Did you make a statutory request in writing? An informal request, such as a chat with your manager, does not have to be dealt with under the legal rules.
4. When did you make it, and what has your employer done since? This decides whether the 2 months have run out, and your time limit for a tribunal complaint.

"How do I make a request?"

Make it in writing: an email or a letter is fine. Acas has a template you can use, and your employer may ask you to use its own form.

Your request must include:

• the date of the request;
• a statement that it is a statutory request for flexible working;
• how you want to work flexibly and the date you want it to start;
• whether you have made a request before, and if so the date.

You do not have to explain what effect the change would have on your employer. It is still a good idea to say how the change could work, for example for your colleagues.

You can ask to change how many hours you work, when you start or finish, which days you work, or where you work. Examples include part-time work, compressed hours, flexitime, annualised hours, staggered hours, job sharing, hybrid working and working from home.

Your employer can take up to 2 months to decide, so ask in good time. If you are coming back from maternity leave, Citizens Advice suggests asking about 2 months before you go back.

"What must my employer do?"

Your employer must deal with your request in a reasonable manner. The Acas Code of Practice on flexible working requests sets out how, and a tribunal takes it into account.

Before refusing your request, your employer must discuss it with you.

Your employer must make its decision, including any appeal, within 2 months of your request. It can take longer only if you agree.

If your employer agrees, it should write to you with the agreed changes and a start date, and change your contract as soon as possible and no later than 28 days after agreeing. The change is to your contract, so it is permanent unless you agree otherwise.

Your employer can treat your request as withdrawn if you miss 2 meetings about it without a good reason, such as sickness. It must tell you if it does.

"My employer said no. Can they do that?"

Yes, but only for one or more of these 8 business reasons:

• extra costs that will damage the business;
• the work cannot be reorganised among other staff;
• people cannot be recruited to do the work;
• flexible working will affect quality;
• flexible working will affect performance;
• the business will not be able to meet customer demand;
• there is not enough work to do during the times you want to work;
• the business is planning changes to the workforce.

Your employer must tell you it has refused, and give you the business reasons.

There is no statutory right to appeal a refusal, but your employer may have an appeal process. Check your employer's flexible working policy or staff handbook.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will also require a refusal to be reasonable. That change is not in force yet. Until it starts, the rules in this guide are the legal rules.

"Can I take my employer to a tribunal?"

You cannot complain to an employment tribunal just because your request was refused. You can complain if your employer:

• did not deal with your request in a reasonable manner;
• did not make its decision within 2 months, or a longer time you agreed;
• wrongly treated your request as withdrawn;
• refused your request based on incorrect facts;
• dismissed you or treated you badly because of your request, for example refused you a promotion or a pay rise.

A tribunal cannot make your employer give you the working pattern you asked for. If a complaint about how your request was handled succeeds, the tribunal can order your employer to look at your request again and can award up to 8 weeks' pay. A week's pay is capped at £751.

Being dismissed or treated badly because of your request is a separate claim with its own rules: see our tribunal guide.

Before most claims, you must notify Acas to start early conciliation. It is free. Your time limit is paused while conciliation runs, but only if you notify Acas within your time limit.

If a refusal puts you at a disadvantage because of your sex, a disability or another protected characteristic, it may also be discrimination. For example, refusing a request made because of childcare can be indirect sex discrimination. This guide does not cover discrimination claims: ask Acas.

Deadlines you must meet

• Your employer's decision, including any appeal: within 2 months of your request, unless you agree to a longer time.
• An agreed change: your contract should be changed no later than 28 days after it was agreed.
• Most tribunal claims, including a complaint about how your request was handled: 3 months less 1 day from the act you are complaining about, or 6 months less 1 day where that act (or the last act in a series) happened on or after 1 October 2026. For a complaint about how your request was handled, the time runs from the date your employer tells you its decision. If your employer lets you appeal, it runs from the date you are told the decision on your last appeal. If your employer makes no decision, it runs from the end of the 2 months, or the longer time you agreed. If your employer treats your request as withdrawn, it runs from the date it tells you this. You cannot make this complaint about a request you withdrew or that you and your employer settled by agreement. Notify Acas within your time limit. Your exact date depends on your facts: see our tribunal deadline guide.

Traps

• The right is a right to ask. Your employer does not have to agree, but it must follow the rules and can only refuse for one of the 8 business reasons.
• The day-one right and 2 requests a year are for England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland's rules are different: do not use them here.
• You can only have one request being dealt with at a time.
• The 2 months include any appeal. Agreeing a date for an appeal meeting is not the same as agreeing to extend the 2 months.
• A tribunal cannot order your employer to give you the working pattern you asked for.
• The Employment Rights Act 2025 reasonableness test is not in force yet.