Withdrawal of flexible working request form

Where an employee has submitted a statutory request for flexible working but subsequently decides to withdraw it, our form enables them to do this in an easy way.

A U-turn

There are various reasons why an employee might change their mind about their request for flexible working, such as a change in their personal or financial circumstances, a change in their job role or duties or where they submitted their application “in the heat of the moment” and they’ve since had time to reflect on whether it’s what they want. If an employee does wish to withdraw their flexible working request, you can use our Withdrawal of Flexible Working Request Form so that you have appropriate written evidence of their decision. Any withdrawal should also be entirely their own choice; never put pressure on an employee to do this as the decision must come from them.

Reasons for withdrawal

An employee has the right to withdraw their request at any time during the flexible working process. They’re also under no obligation to tell you why they’ve changed their mind. However, our form does ask them to state the reasons for their withdrawal, as that might give you the heads up on whether they’re likely to make a further application and it will also enable you to check that they’ve not withdrawn it under duress or pressure from other staff. If the employee doesn’t state their reasons though, you must still treat their request as having been withdrawn.

Withdrawal by conduct

Separate to the employee’s voluntary withdrawal of their request, the statutory provisions also say that you’re entitled to treat their request as having been withdrawn in either of the following cases: (1) where they’ve failed, without good reason, to attend both a first meeting that you arranged to discuss their request and a next meeting you arranged for that purpose; or (2) where, in circumstances where you permitted them to appeal against a decision to reject their request, they’ve failed, without good reason, to attend both a first meeting that you arranged to discuss their appeal and a next meeting you arranged for that. Where the employee has been invited to, but failed to, attend two meetings (or two appeal meetings), you must then notify them that you’ve decided to treat their conduct as a withdrawal of their flexible working request - see our Letter Confirming Flexible Working Request Withdrawn. You can use this letter as your response to voluntary withdrawals too, for example, if the employee hasn’t submitted our form but has instead emailed you to withdraw their request.

Implications of withdrawal

The statutory rules provide that an employee is only permitted to make a maximum of two requests for flexible working to the same employer during any rolling twelve-month period. Whether it’s a voluntary withdrawal or a withdrawal by conduct, the employee’s flexible working request will nevertheless still count as a valid application for the purpose of calculating whether they’ve made two requests in a twelve-month period. Therefore, our form makes this clear to the employee so that they understand the implications of their voluntary withdrawal.