Verstia
England & Walesflexible-working

Flexible Working Request Outcome Letter (Employer to Employee) — England & Wales

This is a static, verified master template. AI never generates the clause text below — it only helps you fill in the variable fields once you sign up.

This document's core is based on a template published by ACAS (inferred to be under OGL-3.0, from ACAS's site-wide licensing notice — not a template-specific statement). Verstia does not claim this text is approved by ACAS — its fidelity to the source is verified by a deterministic diff, not a legal review.

Template preview
FLEXIBLE WORKING REQUEST OUTCOME LETTER TEMPLATE

letter date
Dear employee name,
I am writing to confirm our decision on the statutory flexible working request you made on request date.
[If outcome_is_accept_full:] I'm pleased to confirm we can accept your request in full as follows:
[If outcome_is_accept_full:] agreed arrangement details
[If outcome_is_accept_full:] If you'd like to discuss next steps or clarify any details, please contact me at contact details.
[If outcome_is_accept_full:] We will confirm any contract term changes in writing within 1 month of the new arrangement starting.
[If outcome_is_accept_alternative:] After reviewing your request and discussing with you on consultation meeting date, we can accept the following working arrangement:
[If outcome_is_accept_alternative:] agreed arrangement details
[If outcome_is_accept_alternative:] If you'd like to discuss next steps or clarify any details, please contact me at contact details.
[If outcome_is_accept_alternative:] We will confirm any contract term changes in writing within 1 month of the new arrangement starting.
[If outcome_is_accept_alternative:] Unfortunately we could not accept your original request in full for the following business reasons:
[If ground_additional_costs_alt:] the burden of additional costs
[If ground_reorganise_staff_alt:] an inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff
[If ground_recruit_staff_alt:] an inability to recruit additional staff
[If ground_quality_alt:] a detrimental impact on quality
[If ground_performance_alt:] a detrimental impact on performance
[If ground_customer_demand_alt:] a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
[If ground_insufficient_work_alt:] insufficient work available for the periods the employee proposes to work
[If ground_structural_change_alt:] planned structural changes to the employer's business
[If outcome_is_accept_alternative:] If you would like to appeal this decision, appeal details.
[If outcome_is_refuse:] After reviewing your request and discussing with you on consultation meeting date, unfortunately we cannot accept this working arrangement.
[If outcome_is_refuse:] This is for the following business reasons:
[If ground_additional_costs_refuse:] the burden of additional costs
[If ground_reorganise_staff_refuse:] an inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff
[If ground_recruit_staff_refuse:] an inability to recruit additional staff
[If ground_quality_refuse:] a detrimental impact on quality
[If ground_performance_refuse:] a detrimental impact on performance
[If ground_customer_demand_refuse:] a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
[If ground_insufficient_work_refuse:] insufficient work available for the periods the employee proposes to work
[If ground_structural_change_refuse:] planned structural changes to the employer's business
[If has_additional_info:] To help make this decision, we took into account additional info details.
[If outcome_is_refuse:] If you would like to appeal this decision, appeal details.

---
If your refusal relates to childcare, caring responsibilities, or another protected characteristic, get independent legal advice before sending this letter — refusing on such grounds can amount to indirect sex discrimination or other unlawful discrimination.
Yours sincerely,
signatory name
signatory job title
organisation name
Variables you will fill in
  • Letter date(date)required
  • Employee name(text)required
  • Date the request was made(date)required
  • Decision(select)required
  • Agreed working arrangement details (if accepted, in full or as an alternative)(textarea)
  • Your contact details for follow-up questions(text)
  • Date of the consultation meeting with the employee (if partially/fully refusing)(date)
  • Ground: the burden of additional costs(boolean)

    Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working, para 9 (statutory business ground 1 of 8).

  • Ground: an inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff(boolean)
  • Ground: an inability to recruit additional staff(boolean)
  • Ground: a detrimental impact on quality(boolean)
  • Ground: a detrimental impact on performance(boolean)
  • Ground: a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand(boolean)
  • Ground: insufficient work available for the periods the employee proposes to work(boolean)
  • Ground: planned structural changes to the employer's business(boolean)

    Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working, para 9 (statutory business ground 8 of 8). These are the only grounds on which a request may be refused, in whole or in part; the employer must also have consulted the employee before refusing (para 12).

  • Do you want to state additional information behind the decision?(boolean)
  • Additional information behind the decision (if applicable)(textarea)
  • How to appeal this decision (if partially/fully refusing)(text)
  • Your name (signatory)(text)required
  • Your job title(text)required
  • Organisation name(text)required

This information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on a specific situation, consult a qualified adviser or Acas (acas.org.uk).