Your right to ask for remote or flexible work: the rules and timelines

Every employee can ask to work from home, and parents and carers can ask for flexible hours. Here is what your employer must do, how long they have, and what the WRC can and cannot do if they say no.

Most people who ask to work from home get a yes. A Government review found 94% of employees who made a formal request had it approved in full or in part. Yet only about 1 in 10 employees had ever made one.

Two different rights, since March 2024

Since 7 March 2024, workers have two rights under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Neither is a right to get the arrangement. Each is a right to ask, and to have your request dealt with properly.

Flexible working is for parents of a child under 12, or under 16 if the child has a disability or long-term illness. It also covers carers of someone in the same home who needs a lot of care for a serious medical reason. That can be a child, partner, parent, grandparent, brother or sister.

You can ask from day one

You can make a request on your first day in a job. But the new arrangement cannot start until you have 6 months of continuous service. A break of up to 26 weeks before you go back to the same employer does not break that service.

Ask in writing or through your employer's online form. Send it as early as you can, and at least 8 weeks before you want it to start.

• The days or times you want to work remotely or flexibly
• Your reasons for asking
• The start date and how long it should last
• For remote work: where you will work, and why that place suits the job

For a flexible working request, your employer may ask for proof, such as a birth certificate or a medical certificate.

Your employer has 4 weeks to reply

Your employer must give a decision within 4 weeks of getting your request. If the request is hard to assess, they can extend this by up to 8 more weeks. They must tell you in writing.

A yes comes with a written agreement signed by you both. A no must be in writing, with the reasons. The third option is a written notice that they need more time.

What the Code of Practice asks employers to weigh

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) wrote a Code of Practice, which is official guidance on handling requests. It can be used as evidence at a hearing. It says employers must balance the needs of the business against your needs and reasons.

“An employer should consider a request for RW in an objective, fair and reasonable manner.”— WRC Code of Practice on the right to request flexible and remote working

• Can any of the duties be done remotely?
• Does the job need a lot of manual work, or tasks done on site?
• Does it need equipment or data only available on site?
• Does it need face-to-face contact with customers or colleagues?
• Would it affect service, given others already on leave or remote work?
• Could technology solve the problem, and are there health and safety issues?

The Code does not give a fixed list of reasons for refusing. It does say employers should look at other options where they can, such as fewer remote days.

If you are refused

Start by talking to your manager or HR. If that does not work, use your company's grievance procedure. If it is still not sorted, you can complain to the WRC using its online complaint form.

Know the limits. The WRC cannot judge whether a refusal was the right business decision, or overturn it. It checks whether your employer followed the rules, such as replying on time and giving reasons in writing.

Your employer cannot punish you for asking. Victimisation for making a request, or for using an approved arrangement, is not allowed.

Few cases reach a hearing

The WRC received 71 complaints under the Act from March 2024 to January 2026. Of 42 closed cases, only 1 was upheld after a hearing. Another 12 were rejected, 5 were settled through mediation and 24 were withdrawn.

The Government says a national information campaign will start in 2026 to raise awareness.

Your employer can end an arrangement

An employer can end an approved arrangement if it has a big negative effect on the business. Examples in the Code include seasonal changes in workload or the nature of your duties. They must tell you in writing, give reasons and allow you 7 days to respond.

• You get at least 4 weeks' notice of your return date
• Your employer must keep records of approved remote arrangements for three years
• On flexible working, you can ask in writing to return to your old pattern early

How many people work from home

About 1 in 3 workers work from home at least some of the time. That was 990,600 people in April to June 2026. Of these, 529,800 usually work from home, meaning more than half their working time.

Home working peaked in early 2021, when 846,700 people usually worked from home. Almost two in three workers now never work from home.

Working from home can also cut your tax bill. See our guide to claiming remote working relief.