Leave and flexible working

Flexible working request: accepted letter

Confirms a statutory flexible working request has been agreed, and records the permanent change to terms.

An employee has made a request under the statutory scheme (or your own policy) to change hours, times or place of work, and you have agreed it, in full or with a variation they have accepted. The change is a change to their contract and must be confirmed in writing.

Before it goes

  • The request was in writing and dated; you are within two months of receiving it.
  • You have agreed the exact new pattern and the date it starts.
  • You have decided whether it is permanent (the default) or a trial.

The letter

[COMPANY NAME] [COMPANY ADDRESS] [DATE] [EMPLOYEE NAME] [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME], Your flexible working request Thank you for your flexible working request dated [REQUEST DATE], and for meeting me on [MEETING DATE] to discuss it. I am pleased to confirm that your request is agreed. From [START DATE], your working pattern will be: Hours: [HOURS] per week (previously [OLD HOURS]). Days and times: [NEW PATTERN, e.g. Monday to Thursday, 07:30 to 16:30, with a 30-minute unpaid break]. Place of work: [UNCHANGED / NEW ARRANGEMENT, e.g. [ADDRESS] on Mondays and Tuesdays and from home on Wednesdays and Thursdays]. Pay: [£ AMOUNT] per [year / hour], pro-rated for the new hours (previously [OLD PAY]). Holiday: [NUMBER] days a year including bank holidays, pro-rated (previously [OLD ENTITLEMENT]). [This is a permanent change to your terms and conditions of employment. / We have agreed that this arrangement will run as a trial from [START DATE] to [END DATE]. We will meet on [REVIEW DATE] to review it. If it is working for you and the business it will become permanent; if not, either of us can propose changes at that review, and if no agreement is reached your previous pattern will resume from [DATE].] All other terms of your employment are unchanged. Please keep this letter with your written statement. [Anything practical: your rota in Work-Lynx has been updated from [DATE]; [NAME] will cover Fridays.] Yours sincerely, [MANAGER NAME] [JOB TITLE] [COMPANY NAME]

Filling it in

The pattern
Hours, days, times, place, pay, holiday. Every one recalculated. Work-Lynx's leave calculator does the pro-rating.
Permanent or trial
Delete one. Statutory changes are permanent unless you agree otherwise, so if you want a trial, this letter is where you agree it.

What the law says

  • Employment Rights Act 1996 ss.80F to 80I, as amended from 6 April 2024: the right to request is from day one; two requests in any 12 months; the employer must deal with the request, including any appeal, within two months unless a longer period is agreed.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.4: a change to the written particulars must be confirmed in writing within one month.
Guidance, not legal advice. Employment law moves; check the current position before relying on any of it, and take advice on anything that could end someone's employment.

What turns this letter into a claim

  • Do not agree verbally and leave it. The written confirmation is a legal requirement and the only thing that stops a later argument about pay.
  • Do not forget the knock-on: pension contributions, overtime thresholds, bank holidays for someone no longer working Mondays.

Questions people ask

Can I agree a trial period instead of a permanent change?

Yes, if the employee agrees. Put the review date and what happens at the end in the letter. A trial you have not written down is a permanent change in the eyes of the law.

How do I pro-rate holiday for someone dropping to four days?

5.6 weeks of their working week. Four days a week gives 22.4 days including bank holidays, usually rounded up. Bank holidays falling on their non-working day are the reason to work in days rather than assume.

The letter, with the names already in

Employ AI drafts letters like this one from the employee's record, so the dates, service and pay are already right, and the disciplinary module writes the invitation and outcome letters from the case itself. All 44 letter families, 49 UK policies, GPS clock-in, rotas, leave and timesheets: £2.50 a month plus £1 per employee. 14 days free, no card.

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