How to Make a Flexible Working Request to Employer

Many people find that traditional hours aren’t good enough. You may need to start later to get your kids up for school or want to work earlier to get done sooner. Regardless, many employers are now starting to use a hybrid workforce, where some employees are at the office, and others are at home (or working remotely elsewhere).

If your company has a flexible working model, it is easy to put in a flexible working request. However, you need to know what it is and how to ask your employer for it.

What Is Flexible Working?

Flexible working is where an employee chooses when they start working, where they work, and when to stop working. The goal of flexible working is to help employees manage their work-life balance to reduce stress and boost productivity and job satisfaction.

While a hybrid work model and flexible working are similar, there are other options that an employer can do. Hot desking is a hot trend right now, which is where any employee can use any desk setup.

There are some pros and cons of hot desking, but generally, it means that you can walk into the office and plop down at any workstation to get going.

In most cases, you need the right hot desking software to make sure that each person can raise or lower the standing desk to meet their needs.

Now that you understand what flexibility you might have at work, it is important to learn how to ask for flexible working hours. Most employers have a flexible working application, which you must fill out. From there, a manager looks at the request to make sure that you are eligible for flexible working.

If that is the case, you are permitted to fill out a flexible work request form. Some employers don’t have a set application to fill out. Instead, you put in a flexible working request by putting it in writing. This must include certain bits of information.

It can be a good idea to put in a flexible working request if you:

•    Share your job with another person

•    Want to work from home

•    Prefer to work more hours for fewer days

•    Have flexibility with start/finish times

•    Need to change your finish/start times

•    Want to reduce hours and work part-time

You may also ask for this flexible working request to be for:

•    Specific shifts or days

•    All working days

•    A limited time (six months)

•    Specific weeks (such as during school months)

Continue reading to learn how to ask for flexible working hours the right way:

Guide on How to Make Flexible Working Request for Employees

The first thing you need to do is make sure that you are allowed to fill out a flexible work request form. By law, you can put in a flexible working request if you:

•    Have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks or more

•    Are legally classified as an employee

•    Have no made other flexible working requests in the last 12 months

If you are allowed to make a request, the employer has to:

•    Make a decision within three months

•    Look at the flexible working request fairly

Even if you don’t have a legal right to do so, some employers let their employees fill out a flexible working application. Just check your policy to make sure.

We realize it can be a bit scary to put in a flexible work request form. Most employers don’t actually have a flexible working application to fill in. Therefore, you should follow these tips to make sure that all of the information is included. Type it up (or email it) and send it to the right people (usually your manager).

Every flexible working request should include:

•    Date

•    Employee details (your name, job title, and contact details)

•    Salutation (Dear [Manager’s Name])

When all that is done, you should state clearly that you want to request a flexible working arrangement that’s different from your current one. State the reason for the request, such as to help with childcare.

It’s important to confirm in writing that you’ve worked as an employee at that organization for the right amount of time and list your employment style (full-time, part-time).

Once you have that, the flexible work request form should describe in detail what you want to work. This should include how many hours you put in, when you start/stop, how many days you want to work, and more.

As an example, you can say: “I want to start working 40 hours a week, 10 hours per day, and only work four days (Monday through Thursday). I plan to start working at 10 a.m. and finish my day at 6 p.m.

You should then explain why those changes are beneficial to you. List as many reasons as necessary here. However, try not to go into too much detail because you don’t want to seem long-winded. The flexible working request should be restricted to one printed page.

If there is room, try to explain why this working pattern change is going to positively affect your colleagues and the employer. For example, you can say that you are going to be more productive and less stressed.

At the end of the letter, you want to make sure you tell the employer when you want the flexible working request to take effect. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to happen, but it’s important to note it.

The rest is the conclusion, which is where you thank them for their time and ask that you get a speedy response. You may also include a note that says you are willing to work with the employer if they have an alternative arrangement they prefer. Then, include a complimentary close (yours sincerely) and your name.

Conclusion

Putting in a flexible working request can be a challenge if you’ve never done it before. You’ve successfully learned how to ask for flexible working hours, which can help you stay productive, balance your home life, and much more