Article

Flexible working to help 4.5 million more parents

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM News Release issued by The Government News Network on 15 May 2008

An extra 4.5 million parents in Britain will gain the right to request flexible working, following the publication of the government's independent review today.

Business Secretary John Hutton accepted the recommendations made by Imelda Walsh, the HR director of Sainsbury's, to extend the right to request flexible working to parents of children up to age 16. The government will now consult on implementing the proposals.

John Hutton said:

"This is an excellent report that will give a big boost to busy parents who need more help balancing work and family life. It can also help employers who often find they get the best out of mums and dads when they allow them to work flexibly.

"It is important that employers retain control over deciding whether it suits their business allow people to work flexibly, but extending the right to request to parents of older children will allow families to take priority when decisions are made."

Imelda Walsh said:

"Support for more flexible and creative ways of working has made significant progress over the past 10 years, though both legislation and voluntary change. Continuing progress depends on both employers and employees believing that there is a fair balance.

"I am convinced that the challenges which parents with older children face are considerable, and that the arguments for raising the age to 16 are compelling. This change would offer an important opportunity for parents to have extra flexibility at key times in their children's lives."

Women and Equalities Minister Harriet Harman said:

"Families are the framework of our lives. Parents want both to earn a living and do the best they can in bringing up their children, but need more flexibility at work.

"We've already built a strong foundation of support for families, with the right to request flexible working for parents of children up to the age of six, as well as improved maternity and paternity rights.

"But, as any parent knows, the demands of parental responsibility don't end at the age of six, which is why we are going to extend the right to request flexible work to parents with older children."

The review also found:

* Any change should be implemented at once, rather than a staged introduction, to avoid creating confusion for business and employees.

* Small businesses generally had a better record on accepting flexible working requests than larger ones.

* Business would benefit from increased information and guidance about dealing with flexible working requests.

* Flexible working should not be considered a 'women's issue', with 14 million employees currently working flexibly, and the latest figures showing men make up 45% of this figure. The increasing earning power of women also suggests that flexible working now, and in the future, is far from being an issue that affects only women.

* More work should be done to raise awareness of the right to request flexible working, both among employees and employers.

Around six million employees currently have the right to request flexible working (3.6 million parents and 2.65 million carers), but over 14 million employees, including part-time workers, actually work flexibly.

Flexible working arrangements include working from home, part-time work, compressed hours, flexi-time or other arrangements agreed with employers. These arrangements allow for people to grow their careers and remain in the workforce, and reflect the Government's commitment to helping people to make the most of their potential.

91% of workplaces who received requests in the last year approved them all and BERR's Third Work-Life Balance Survey of employers shows they largely have positive views about promoting work-life balance.

Notes to Editors

1. Imelda Walsh is HR Director of Sainsbury's and has considerable experience of HR issues. She has a varied background having worked for Barclays, Coca-Cola and Schweppes Beverages. Sainsbury's has circa 150,000 employees many of whom work under flexible contracts to suit their family needs.

2. Access the flexible working review document at: http://www.berr.go v.uk/employment/whats-new/index.html

3. The Government supports parents in a range of different ways. Parents of every three and four year old (in England) are entitled to 12.5 hours of free childcare a week. A pilot is underway to extend this entitlement to thousands of disadvantaged two year olds, because evidence show good quality early years care can have a positive impact on a child's learning right through their primary school years. The Government has provided £3.5m a day available to parents through the tax credit system to help support parental choice. The childcare element of Working Tax Credit pays up to £140 a week for one child and £240 a week for two or more - a level of funding which genuinely helps parents make choices that suit them and to balance their work and family life.