The employee’s request



The request must comply with a few basic requirements. Specifically, it must:



• be in writing;



• state that it is a statutory request to work flexibly;



• state the change the employee wants and their proposed start date;



• explain what effect, if any, they think the change will have on their employer and how they think this could be dealt with; 



• confirm that no other request has been made in the last 12 months.



A request that misses out one of the above criteria could be rejected as invalid, so it is important to address each one separately. 



There is no legal requirement to tell the employer why the request is being made. However, to have an open discussion, it will usually be sensible to explain the reasons. Employers will also want to ensure they are not breaching equality laws against sex, disability or religious discrimination (for example, where a request relates to religious observance). If the request is to work from home because of caring responsibilities, it is sensible to show that adequate childcare arrangements are in place, and that caring responsibilities will not interfere with the day-to-day performance of normal duties during working hours. 



Acas suggests that any disabled employee making their request under the statutory duty to make reasonable adjustments (see page 253) should spell this out. The law allows the needs of disabled workers to work flexibly to be prioritised over those of their non-disabled colleagues (see Chapter 7).