Flexible working can change when, where or how you work, but the route you use matters. A statutory request, a temporary informal arrangement, a contractual change and a disability-related reasonable adjustment are not the same thing. This hub helps Civil Service employees identify the correct route and move to detailed guidance for their situation.
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What flexible working can include
Flexible working can include part-time hours, compressed hours, flexitime, staggered start and finish times, job sharing, annualised hours, home working or a hybrid pattern. Some arrangements change contractual terms permanently. Others are informal, temporary or non-contractual and can be reviewed or withdrawn under the relevant departmental policy.
Civil Service departments operate within the statutory flexible working framework, but local forms, approval levels, hybrid policies and office-attendance expectations differ. Most office-based civil servants are currently expected to spend a substantial proportion of their time in a government workplace or on official business, but this does not remove the right to make a statutory request or the separate duty to consider reasonable adjustments.
Choose the guide that matches your situation
- Check who can make a statutory flexible working request and when.
- Follow the formal request process and include the required information.
- Build a stronger application around delivery, coverage and workable safeguards.
- Prepare for the consultation meeting and likely questions.
- Understand acceptance, modifications, trial periods and contractual changes.
- Respond where your request is refused.
- Prepare an appeal where your department offers one.
- Separate flexible working from disability-related reasonable adjustments.
- Plan flexible working after maternity, paternity or adoption leave.
- Compare compressed hours, part-time working and job sharing.
- Handle home working, hybrid arrangements and office attendance.
- Request a temporary or trial arrangement.
- Respond when an existing arrangement is changed or ended.
The basic statutory process
1. Submit the request
Make the request in writing, state that it is statutory, describe the proposed pattern and start date, and identify any previous statutory request.
2. Consultation
Unless the request is accepted in full, the department should consult you before deciding. This is the main opportunity to test concerns and discuss alternatives.
3. Decision
The final decision, including any appeal offered by the department, should normally be completed within two months unless an extension is agreed.
4. Implementation
If agreed, permanent changes should be confirmed clearly and contractual terms updated where necessary. Temporary or non-contractual arrangements need review and end-date wording.
Flexible working and reasonable adjustments are different
A flexible working request is a right to ask for a change. A reasonable adjustment request concerns a disadvantage connected to disability and is assessed under a separate legal duty. A disabled employee may need to use both routes, but the department should not reject an adjustment simply because a flexible working request has already been used or refused.
Start with the route, not the preferred label
Before writing anything, decide whether you are asking for a permanent contractual change, a temporary arrangement, a local hybrid agreement or an adjustment connected to disability. The evidence, decision-maker and consequences may differ.
Unlock the full flexible working strategy below, including how to select the right route, design a workable pattern, anticipate Civil Service objections, prepare evidence and decide what to do if the first proposal is delayed, changed or refused.
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