Be well prepared
You will have to explain clearly what you want and why you've chosen that particular flexible working option. Mostly, you and the employer will want the same thing: for you, an experienced employee, to stay with the organisation. But, especially if the organisation does not have flexible working patterns in place, the employer will probably want convincing that you are sure this is the best choice for you - and reassured that it's not going to cause

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Seek advice
If you belong to a trade union, contact your local representative as soon as you can, and before you approach your employer. They will probably have experience of advising on similar requests to yours. You may also know someone who has made the switch to working flexibly - this could even be someone in your workplace. Talk to them to see if they can give you the benefit of their experience.

Support your case
Outline some of the following ways in which the organisation will benefit from flexible working

• Employees whose working hours give them the flexibility they need to meet the demands of their obligations outside of work are usually able to focus more clearly and work more efficiently
• Many surveys show that the British workforce is increasingly seeking flexible working hours. Organisations with flexible working packages in place will have an advantage when it comes to recruiting new candidates
• Experienced staff will not have to leave because they need, for whatever reason, to rearrange their working hours. When Boots the Chemists introduced flexible working, the number of women returning from maternity leave rose from 7% to more than 50%
• The organisation will be able to cut the costs of recruitment and training of new staff. Rank Xerox has offered flexible working for mothers for at least 5 years. They reckon that they have saved £1 million on training recruitment and lost productivity