| Acas

1 . Asking to work from home

You can ask your employer about:

working from home for the first time
changing how often you come into the workplace
continuing to work from home

Make an informal request

Anyone can make an informal request to work from home.

Check the policy

Find out if your employer has a relevant policy – for example, a homeworking, hybrid working or flexible working policy. If you're not sure, ask your manager or HR department.

A policy explains how things work in your organisation. It's a good idea to check the policy first before you speak to your manager.

Speak to your manager

Discuss your working arrangements with your employer or manager, or your representatives (for example, a recognised trade union).

Working from home can be considered alongside other types of flexible working – for example, different working patterns.

Check if you can make a formal request

If you're legally classed as an employee, you can make a statutory (legal) flexible working request.

If you're disabled, you could ask to work from home as a reasonable adjustment.

Find out more about:

2. Responding to requests

As an employer, someone might ask you about working from home or hybrid working. You should consider their request.

Follow the law

Make sure you know why they're asking – they could be making a request for a reasonable adjustment under the law (Equality Act 2010).

If someone asks in writing to change the terms and conditions of their employment, this might be a statutory (legal) flexible working request.

Find out more about statutory flexible working requests

Consider the benefits

Working from home and hybrid working can help:

increase productivity and job satisfaction
attract and retain a more diverse workforce
improve trust and working relationships

When considering working from home and hybrid working, you should discuss how other types of flexible working might help. For example, different working patterns.

Example of home and hybrid working

Ali began working from home after the covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic started.

This allowed Ali to save money by not commuting, and to better look after their children. However, they sometimes felt lonely and found it difficult to collaborate on some work.

Ali does not want to return to the workplace full-time. Ali's employer could consider offering hybrid working and flexible working hours to help with childcare.

Have a policy

A policy can help you to:

consider requests appropriately and consistently
make transparent, fair and objective decisions
explain the process to your employees

Find out more about policies for home and hybrid working

Consult

If you are considering making changes, you should consult your employees, managers and trade unions as soon as possible.

Find out about consulting employees and their representatives

Trial periods

You could agree to try working from home or hybrid working for a short amount of time (a 'trial period').

This would allow you to see:

how it works
whether any adjustments need to be discussed
if there's more or less flexibility than originally expected

Before you begin a trial period, you should agree what might happen at the end of the trial period and how it will be reviewed.

Alternatives to home or hybrid working

You might not currently be able to support the same working from home or hybrid working arrangements for every role in your organisation.

You should discuss alternatives with employees and their representatives, for example:

working in other locations
different working patterns
other ways of flexible working

These alternatives could help to reduce feelings of unfairness.

You should regularly review things, as you might be able to support different arrangements in the future.

3. Disagreements

Employees and employers might disagree about working from home and hybrid working.

Some people might have continued working from home after the covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. This might be because it suits their personal circumstances, for example if they have caring responsibilities or a long journey to work. However, some employers might want them to return to the workplace.

Other people might want to be in the workplace more often. This could be because they prefer to work with others face to face. However, some employers might encourage more working from home, or it might be the most popular option with people at work.

Employers and employees should try to find a solution together, taking into account each individual's circumstances.

Home and hybrid working requests