Trial flexible working curtailment letter

Where an employee asks to cut short a trial period of flexible working, you can use our letter to agree to that request.

Trial period

It’s acceptable under the statutory provisions for you to agree flexible working arrangements for a trial period, particularly where you’re unsure whether the arrangements requested are sustainable in the business or you’re worried about what the impact will be on other employees. Indeed, the Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working envisages that a trial period may be appropriate in some circumstances to assess the feasibility of a flexible working arrangement - see our Trial Flexible Working Arrangement Letter. A trial works both ways though and it also gives the employee an opportunity to test their flexible working proposal out to see if it works in practice for them. Towards the end of the trial period, you then need to decide whether the flexible working arrangement is suitable for your business - see our Letter Confirming Trial Flexible Working Arrangement to make the arrangement permanent where it’s been a success and our Letter Revoking Trial Flexible Working Arrangement to bring the arrangement to an end where it’s been unsuccessful.

Curtailment of trial

However, occasionally, the employee might decide for themselves that the new trial arrangement isn’t suitable for them and so they ask you if they can bring it to an end early. In this case, use our Trial Flexible Working Curtailment Letter to agree to their request. It sets out when the trial was due to end and the new earlier end date. It also confirms that the employee will then revert to their previous working pattern and their previous employment terms. You don’t need to set out any of the statutory business grounds for refusal of a flexible working request, nor do you need to give a right of appeal, as you haven’t revoked their trial arrangement; it’s happened at their own request, so they’ve effectively withdrawn their application.