Flexible Working Arrangements

What is a request for flexible working?
How does an employee make a request?
What should I do if I receive a request?
Recognised business grounds for declining a request
Handling problems and complaints
Support from MyHR

1. What is a request for flexible working?

All employees in New Zealand — whether permanent, fixed-term, part-time, or casual — have the right to request flexible working arrangements at any time, for any reason.This can include changes to:

Hours of work (e.g., start and finish times)
Days of work (e.g., fewer or different days)
Place of work (e.g., working from home)
Other arrangements (e.g., job sharing, compressed work weeks)

There is no minimum service requirement before an employee can apply.Employees may also request short-term flexible arrangements (less than two months) if affected by family violence.

As an employer, you must consider requests in good faith, but you are not obliged to approve them. Requests can only be declined for recognised business reasons (see Section 4).

2. How does an employee make a request?

For a flexible working request to be considered formal, it must:

Be in writing (including email).
Include the employee’s name and the date.
Reference Part 6AA of the Employment Relations Act 2000.
State the specific change being requested.
Provide the start date of the change.
Indicate if the change is permanent or temporary (and if temporary, for how long).
Explain how the change could work in practice.

Employees may make one formal request in any 12-month period, unless you agree to consider more.

3. What should I do if I receive a request?

As an employer, your obligations are to:

Consider the request in good faith by:
- Discussing the proposal with the employee.
- Considering alternatives or compromises.
- Weighing the employee’s needs against business requirements.
Provide a written decision within one month of receiving the request (14 days is recommended).
- If approved: confirm the arrangement and terms in writing.
- If declined: clearly explain the reasons, citing one or more recognised business grounds.

4. Recognised business grounds for declining a request

A request can only be declined for valid business reasons, including:

inability to reorganise work among existing staff
inability to recruit additional staff
negative impact on quality:
negative impact on performance
insufficient work available during the periods the employee proposes to work
planned structural changes
burden of additional costs
negative effect on ability to meet customer demand.

Note: If an employee is covered by a collective agreement and their flexible working request would create a conflict with the terms of the collective, then the request must be declined.

5. Handling problems and complaints

If an employee is unhappy with your decision:

First, discuss directly with them to explore alternatives.
Check that you followed the correct process (written request, timely written response, valid business grounds).
If still unresolved, the employee may lodge a formal complaint about the process (not simply because they disagree with the decision).

Complaints should be addressed through discussion in the first instance. If needed, the matter may progress to mediation.

6. Support from MyHR

We’re here to help you navigate flexible working requests, including guiding you through the process, drafting formal response letters (approval, decline, or trial arrangements), and helping you work through a complaint.

You can:

Call us: 0800 69 47 69 (Option 1 → Option 2 for Advisory)
Use Ask Us chat: How to use Ask Us

Submit a HR Services request for Flexible working arrangements and provide full information as to what you require.

Want to approve the arrangement on a trial basis first? Just let us know—we can include that in the letter too.