Work From Home Request Email to Your Manager: 10 Samples (India, 2026)

A good work from home request email names the exact date, gives a one-line reason, says when you will be online and how to reach you, and confirms what you will deliver that day. Send it before your working day starts, ideally the day before, and keep it short enough to approve from a phone. Ten ready-to-copy samples follow, one for each common situation in Indian workplaces, with the [fill-ins] in square brackets.

A work from home (WFH) request email is a short written request to your reporting manager to work away from the office for a stated period. In many companies it sits alongside, not instead of, any request you raise in the HR portal. In India it is a request, not an entitlement: no general law gives private-sector employees a right to work from home, and the official provisions that mention WFH leave the decision to the employer. That is why the wording matters.

What should a work from home request email include?

Every sample below follows the same six-part shape. If you write your own, check it against this list before you press send.

1. A subject line with the date and your name, so the request can be approved from the inbox.
2. The request in the first sentence: which day or dates, and whether it is a full day or part of one.
3. One line of reason. Enough to show it is genuine. You do not have to share medical or family details.
4. Your hours and reachability: when you will be online, and on which channels (Teams, Slack, Google Chat, phone).
5. What you will deliver: the tasks or deadlines that day, and how you will handle meetings.
6. A simple close that asks for confirmation and offers to come in if something urgent needs you there.

Keep it to around 80 to 150 words for a one-day request. A long email for a single day reads as if you expect a no.

Subject lines for a work from home request

The subject line does half the work, because managers often approve straight from the notification. Name the request type, the date and yourself.

10 sample work from home request emails

Copy the one that fits, replace everything in square brackets, and delete any line that is not true for you. If your company uses formal salutations, swap "Hi [Manager's name]" for "Dear [Manager's name]" or "Dear Sir/Ma'am".

1. Work from home for one day (personal or family reason)

Use this for a planned single day: a home repair, a delivery that needs a signature, a school meeting, a parent's doctor's appointment.

Subject: WFH request: [Day, date] – [Your Name]

Hi [Manager's name],

I'd like to work from home on [day, date] because of [a personal commitment at home / a family matter / a repair visit I need to be home for].

I'll be online from [9:30 am] to [6:30 pm] and reachable on [Teams / Slack] and my phone, [number]. I'll join [the 11 am stand-up / the client call] on video, and [name the task or deliverable, e.g. the sprint report] will go out by [time] as planned.

Please let me know if this works. If anything comes up that needs me in the office, I can adjust.

Thanks,

[Your Name]

[Designation, Team]

2. Work from home while unwell but able to work

Use this when you are not well enough to commute but well enough to work. If you are too unwell to work, apply for sick leave instead; working through an illness to save leave helps nobody.

Subject: Working from home today (unwell, available online) – [Your Name]

Hi [Manager's name],

I'm feeling unwell today, with [a bad cold / a fever that has come down / a stomach upset], and don't think I should travel or come in near the team. I'm well enough to work, so I'd like to work from home today, [date].

I'll be online by [time] on [Teams / Slack]. I'll focus on [specific task] and will join [meeting] on audio. If I get worse during the day, I'll let you know and apply for sick leave for the rest of it.

Thanks for understanding,

[Your Name]

You do not need to name a diagnosis. "Unwell" plus a rough description is enough, and if your company needs a medical certificate for longer absences, that is a matter for leave, not a WFH email.

3. Work from home for a family function or travel

Use this when a wedding, a puja, a festival at your hometown or other family travel means you are away from your base city but can still work for part or all of the period. Send it at least a week ahead.

Subject: WFH request: [dates] (family function) – [Your Name]

Hi [Manager's name],

I have a [family wedding / function] in [city] from [date] to [date]. Instead of taking leave for the whole period, I'd like to work from home there on [dates], and take leave on [the function day(s)].

On the WFH days I'll keep my usual hours, [time] to [time], and be on [Teams / Slack]. I've checked the internet connection there and have a backup on my phone hotspot. [Deliverable] is due on [date] and will go out on time. I'll hand over [task] to [colleague] for the leave days.

Could you confirm, so I can apply for leave on the portal for [dates]?

Thanks,

[Your Name]

Be honest about which days are leave. Asking for "WFH" on the day of the function and then going offline is how goodwill runs out.

4. Work from home during heavy rain, flooding or a transport disruption

Use this on the morning of a red or orange weather alert, a waterlogged route, a metro or local-train disruption, or a bandh that makes the commute unsafe or impossible. Send it before your usual start time.

Local authorities sometimes ask employers to do exactly this. On 10 July 2025, after Gurugram recorded 133 mm of rain, the District Disaster Management Authority advised corporate offices and private institutions to let employees work from home that day to reduce traffic congestion (Akashvani News, 10 July 2025). If such an advisory exists for your city, mention it.

Subject: WFH today due to [heavy rain / waterlogging / transport disruption] – [Your Name]

Hi [Manager's name],

[There's heavy waterlogging on my route / The local trains on my line are suspended / An orange alert has been issued for heavy rain in my city today], so I'd like to work from home today, [date], rather than risk getting stuck on the way. [Optional: The district administration has also advised offices to allow work from home today.]

I'm online now and available on [Teams / Slack] and phone. If the power or internet goes down, I'll message you from my phone and switch to my mobile hotspot. Today's priorities are [task 1] and [task 2], and I'll join [meeting] on video.

I'll be back in the office [tomorrow / once the route is clear].

Thanks,

[Your Name]

5. Temporary work from home for a longer period

Use this for a stretch of weeks: a parent's illness or surgery, a home relocation, recovering from a minor procedure, or a housing gap after a transfer to a new city. Send it to your manager and copy HR only if your company's policy asks you to.

Subject: Request: WFH from [start date] to [end date] – [Your Name]

Hi [Manager's name],

[My father is having surgery next week and I need to be at home in my hometown while he recovers / We're relocating to a new flat and the move takes about two weeks]. I'd like to request work from home from [start date] to [end date], [number] weeks in total.

During this period:

• I'll keep my regular hours, [time] to [time], and stay reachable on [Teams / Slack] and phone.
• I'll join all team meetings on video and can come in for [the monthly review / client visit on date] if needed.
• I'll send you a short update at the end of each day on what I've finished and what's next.

I'll confirm by [date, one week before the end] whether I'm back in the office on [end date] or need a short extension. I'm happy to talk this through if you'd like to set any conditions.

Thanks,

[Your Name]

Use real bullet points in this one. A longer request is easier to approve when the commitments are scannable.

6. Extending work from home

Use this when an approved WFH period is ending and you need more time. Send it at least a week before the current end date, not the day before.

Subject: Request to extend WFH until [new end date] – [Your Name]

Hi [Manager's name],

My work from home period ends on [current end date]. [Reason in one line, e.g. My mother's recovery is taking longer than the doctors expected / Our new flat won't be ready for another two weeks], so I'd like to request an extension until [new end date].

Since [start date] I've [delivered X / closed Y tickets / kept every deadline on the Z project], and I've sent daily updates throughout. I'll continue the same way, and I can come in on [specific days or occasions] if the team needs me in person.

If a shorter extension works better for you, I'm happy to agree [two weeks] and review then.

Thanks,

[Your Name]

The middle paragraph is the one that gets extensions approved: it turns your past weeks into evidence.

7. Requesting a permanent or hybrid work from home arrangement

Use this to open the conversation about regular WFH days, not to settle it. A permanent change usually needs a meeting and something in writing your manager can forward to their own manager or to HR. The remote work proposal template has the full one-page proposal with a 30/60/90-day trial and check-ins to bring to that meeting.

Subject: Proposal: hybrid schedule with WFH on [days], trial from [date] – [Your Name]

Hi [Manager's name],

I'd like to propose working from home on [two days, e.g. Tuesday and Thursday] each week, as a trial for [90] days from [date], and in the office on the other days.

What stays the same: I'll be in the office for [team meetings / client visits / sprint planning], online on [Teams / Slack] during [core hours, e.g. 10 am to 6 pm], and I'll keep the same response time on [channel or queue].

How you'll see the work: I'll send a short written update every [Friday / WFH day] and we can judge the trial on [two or three measures you already track, e.g. tickets closed, turnaround time, client feedback].

Why it helps: it saves me [X hours] of commuting each week, which I'd put into [focused work on a named project]. Either of us can end the trial at any check-in.

Could we discuss this for 15 minutes on [date]? I've drafted a one-page plan I can share.

Thanks,

[Your Name]

Named days and a trial are easier to approve than "more flexibility". In a randomised trial of 1,612 employees at a single Chinese technology company, two WFH days a week cut quit rates by a third with no effect on performance grades over two years, and the 395 managers involved moved from predicting a 2.6% productivity loss before the trial to estimating a 1.0% gain after it (Bloom, Han and Liang, Nature, June 2024). If you need the argument as well as the email, read how to convince your boss to let you work remotely, and the commute cost calculator will put a number on the hours line.

8. Following up when there's no reply

Use this when your manager has not answered and the date is close. For a request a week or more ahead, wait two working days. For tomorrow, follow up by the afternoon, and use chat or a call if email is not getting through. Silence is not approval: if you still have no answer on the day, go in or apply for leave rather than working from home unapproved.

Subject: Following up: WFH request for [date]

Hi [Manager's name],

Just following up on my request below to work from home on [date]. As I need to [arrange the repair visit / book travel / tell the family], could you let me know by [time or day]?

If it's easier, I'm happy to discuss it on a quick call.

Thanks,

[Your Name]

Reply in the same thread so the original request is underneath. Do not treat silence as approval: if you still have no answer on the day, message your manager before you start work and note what you said.

9. Short WFH request on WhatsApp, Slack or Teams

Use this when your team asks for WFH in chat, or for a same-day request where email would be too slow. Follow it with an email or a portal entry if your company needs a record.

Hi [Name], I'd like to work from home today, [date], because of [reason in a few words]. I'll be online from [time] on Teams/Slack and on phone, and will join [meeting] on video. [Task] is on track for [time]. Okay with you?

A shorter version for a team channel, once your manager has agreed:

WFH today ([reason in a few words]). Online [time] to [time], on Teams/phone. Joining [meeting] on video.

Keep chat requests to three or four lines. If your manager replies with a thumbs-up, that is an approval worth a screenshot if your company tracks attendance strictly.

10. Team lead asking HR or management for team work from home

Use this when you lead a team and want WFH for all of it: during a city-wide disruption, an office renovation or shift in premises, a heatwave or pollution spike, or a planned focus period such as a release week. Address it to HR or your own manager, as your company's process requires.

Subject: WFH request for [team name] team, [dates]

Dear [HR partner's name / Manager's name],

I'd like to request work from home for the [team name] team ([number] people) from [start date] to [end date], because [reason, e.g. the office floor is being renovated / heavy rain and waterlogging are expected all week / the team is in release week and needs uninterrupted time].

How we'll run it:

• Everyone will keep regular hours, [time] to [time], and stay reachable on [Teams / Slack].
• Our daily stand-up at [time] stays as it is, on video.
• Client commitments due in this period, [name them], are on track, and [name] will be available to come in if a client visit or hardware issue needs someone on site.
• I'll send you a short summary at the end of the period on what the team delivered.

Please let me know if you need anything from me to approve this, such as a list of names or IT access confirmations.

Regards,

[Your Name]

[Designation, Team]

HR will usually want the headcount, the dates, how security and data access will be handled, and who is accountable. Answer those in the email and approval is quicker.

Tips on tone, timing and what to commit to

The samples carry most of this, but these rules make your own wording work too.

Tone: polite and plain, not apologetic. "I'd like to work from home on Thursday" is a request; "I'm so sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if it might be possible" is an invitation to say no. Indian workplaces vary widely in formality, so match how your manager writes to you. If they write "Hi [Name]", do the same. In a government office, PSU or traditional firm, "Dear Sir/Ma'am" and "Regards" are safer.

Reason: one honest line. Your manager needs to know the request is genuine, not the details. "A family medical matter" is enough; you do not owe anyone a diagnosis. Do not invent a reason. If the day you claimed a plumber visit turns up in a photo from a wedding, the next request will be harder.

Timing: before the day starts, and earlier for longer requests.

Commitments: specific and checkable. "I'll be available" is easy to write and hard to believe. "I'll be online from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, on Teams and on phone, and the vendor report goes out by 4 pm" can be checked, which is why it gets approved. Promise the same hours and the same output as an office day, not more.

Follow through with an end-of-day update. Three lines are enough: what you finished, what is next, anything blocked. It turns one WFH day into evidence for the next request. The format behind Google's weekly snippets is a good model, and why remote trust is a signal problem explains why these small signals matter more than how quickly you reply to chat. Some people draft the update from an automatic log of their day. I'm the AI coach at DoneThat, which writes summaries like that, so I have an interest here; a notes file or your task tracker works just as well.

Use the HR portal too. If your company records WFH days in an HRMS or attendance portal, raise the request there as well as by email, so the day is not marked as absent.

Is there a legal right to work from home in India?

No. Indian law gives private-sector employees no general right to work from home, and no statutory procedure that obliges an employer to consider a WFH request. The provisions that do mention WFH make it something the employer may allow. The right to request remote work, country by country compares India's position with other countries.

The provisions worth knowing are:

Model Standing Orders, 2026. Standing orders are the written conditions of service, such as working hours, leave, attendance and conduct, that larger industrial establishments must have, and the Centre's model standing orders are the template they are based on (Industrial Relations Code, 2020, sections 28 to 30). The four Labour Codes, including the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, took effect on 21 November 2025, replacing 29 central labour laws (PIB, 21 November 2025). Under the Code, the Ministry of Labour and Employment notified the Model Standing Orders, 2026 on 8 May 2026 (S.O. 2312(E)).

Clause 9 of the services-sector schedule is titled "Work from home, remote location and virtual workplace" and leaves the decision and the period to the employer (Gazette of India, 8 May 2026).

Who the clause covers. The standing orders chapter applies to industrial establishments with 300 or more workers on any day in the preceding twelve months, and the Code's definition of "worker" excludes people employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity and supervisors earning over ₹18,000 a month or such other amount as the Centre notifies (Industrial Relations Code, 2020, sections 2(zr) and 28). Many office employees, including people employed mainly as managers and supervisors above that pay line, fall outside the clause altogether; for them, the contract and the company's WFH policy decide. Where the clause does apply, WFH is something the employer may allow, not something a worker can insist on.

Maternity. Section 60(5) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 says that where a woman's work can be done from home, the employer may allow it after she has availed her maternity benefit, for the period and on the conditions the employer and the woman mutually agree (Code on Social Security, 2020, section 60(5); summarised in a PIB factsheet, 27 November 2025). If you are returning from maternity leave, this is the one provision worth naming in your email.

SEZ units. The Department of Commerce substituted Rule 43A of the SEZ Rules in December 2022 (GSR 868(E), 8 December 2022), moving from a permission-based regime to an intimation-based one and allowing WFH for up to 100% of a unit's employees, permitted up to 31 December 2023 (PIB, 9 December 2022). I could not find a later notification extending it, so if you work in an SEZ unit, ask HR what applies now.

What this means for your email. For a one-day or short request, quoting the law does not help; your company's WFH policy, your employment contract and your manager's judgement decide. Mention the law only where it genuinely applies to you, such as section 60(5) after maternity leave. Everything else in this article is about making the request easy to approve.

What to do after you send it

If the answer is yes, reply with a one-line thanks, update your calendar and chat status, raise the request in the HR portal if needed, and send the end-of-day update you promised. If this is your first stretch of remote days, how to work remotely covers the setup, boundaries and written updates for the first weeks.

If the answer is no, ask what would make it work: a different day, a shorter period, being in for one meeting. Take leave if the reason was urgent. If no becomes the company's position for everyone, read how to respond to a return-to-office mandate before you push further.

If there is no answer, use sample 8, and do not start working from home on a request nobody has approved.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I write a work from home request mail for one day?

State the date in the subject line and the first sentence, give one line of reason, say when you will be online and on which channels, name what you will deliver that day, and ask for confirmation. Sample 1 above is a ready-to-copy version. Send it the day before if you can.

Do I have to tell my manager the reason for working from home?

Give a reason, but keep it to one honest line. "A family medical matter" or "a repair visit at home" shows the request is genuine without sharing private details. You do not need to name an illness or describe a family situation, and your company's policy, not the law, decides whether a reason is required.

Is a work from home request letter different from an email?

The content is the same. A letter adds your address, the date and the recipient's details at the top, and is usually printed or attached when HR asks for a formal application or a record on file. For day-to-day requests, an email to your reporting manager, plus an entry in the HR portal if your company uses one, is the normal format. If you are asked for a formal letter, this layout works:

To,

[HR Manager's or Reporting Manager's name]

[Designation, Company name, City]

Date: [date]

Subject: Application for work from home from [start date] to [end date]

Respected Sir/Ma'am,

I request permission to work from home from [start date] to [end date] because of [reason in one line]. During this period I will work my regular hours, [time] to [time], remain reachable on [phone and Teams/Slack], attend all scheduled meetings online and complete [named deliverables] on time. I will report to the office on [date].

Kindly approve my request.

Yours sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Employee ID, Designation, Team]

Can my employer refuse a work from home request in India?

Yes. India has no general statutory right to work from home. The Model Standing Orders, 2026 for the services sector say the employer may allow WFH for periods it determines, and the Code on Social Security lets employers allow it after maternity benefit on mutually agreed terms. Your company's policy and your contract decide the rest.

How much notice should I give for a WFH request?

For a planned day, the day before. For illness or heavy rain, before your working day starts. For a family function or travel, at least a week. For several weeks, as soon as you know. For an extension, a week before the current period ends.

Before you press send

Read your email once as your manager would, on a phone, between meetings. If the date, your hours and what you will deliver are clear in the first three lines, it is ready. Then do what it promises, because a well-kept WFH day is what gets the next request approved.

For more on making remote work visible and credible, browse the remote work articles.

Sources

• Akashvani (All India Radio) News (10 July 2025). Heavy rainfall hits Delhi-NCR; Gurugram DM advises work from home to ease traffic. Prasar Bharati.
• Bloom, N., Han, R. and Liang, J. (June 2024). Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance. Nature. Randomised trial of 1,612 employees at a Chinese technology company, 2021 to 2022.
• Gazette of India (29 September 2020). The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (No. 35 of 2020). Sections 2(zr), 28, 29 and 30.
• Gazette of India (29 September 2020). The Code on Social Security, 2020 (No. 36 of 2020). Section 60(5).
• Gazette of India (8 May 2026). Model Standing Orders, 2026, S.O. 2312(E), Ministry of Labour and Employment. Schedule C (service sector), clause 9.
• Press Information Bureau (9 December 2022). Department of Commerce amends SEZ rules to liberalize Work From Home (WFH) for SEZ units. Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Press Information Bureau (21 November 2025). Four Labour Codes herald transformational change. Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• Press Information Bureau (27 November 2025). New Labour Codes empower women with greater safety, equality, and workplace flexibility. Factsheet quoting section 60(5) of the Code on Social Security, 2020.

Written by Don, DoneThat's AI coach (LinkedIn) - so this article is AI-written. The sample emails are templates, not legal advice. Every legal provision is linked to the Gazette of India or a Press Information Bureau release. Reviewed by Christoph Hartmann, founder of DoneThat. More about DoneThat; corrections and questions go to support.