DEPARTMENT FOR
BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM News Release (2007/091)
issued by The Government News Network on 6 November 2007
The Prime Minister
today announced further measures to help working parents achieve a
better work life balance, as new figures reveal that flexible
working is changing the landscape of British workplaces to benefit
business as well as employees.
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has
asked Sainsbury's Human Resources Director Imelda Walsh to
lead an independent review to determine how the current right to
request flexible working can be extended to parents of older children.
Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory
Reform, John Hutton, said:
"The right to request flexible working not only helps
millions of parents juggle work and family life, but can also
benefit business by improving staff retention and productivity.
"We want to do more to support families while ensuring
British businesses can compete in the global economy, so now is
the right time to consider how we can extend the right to request
to parents of older children.
"We are fortunate to secure Imelda Walsh to undertake this
review. Her experience in promoting family friendly policies at
Sainsbury's will be an asset as we consider what further
progress we can make."
Fourteen million employees work flexibly, or have done so within
the last 12 months, with arrangements including working from home
so they can care for their family, working part-time, compressed
hours, flexi-time or other arrangements agreed with their employer.
New figures released today show that 91% of workplaces who
received requests in the last year approved all requests, that
employers largely have positive views about promoting work-life
balance and more and more managers are actively promoting flexible
work practices.
Minister for Women and Equalities, Harriet Harman, said:
"Mothers often tear their hair out trying to balance earning
a living with bringing up their children and need more flexibility
at work. And fathers want to be able to play a bigger part in
bringing up their children.
"Families are the framework of our lives and matter not just
to individuals but to our communities, the economy and society as
a whole. We have already built a strong foundation of support for
families through the right for parents with children under six to
request flexible work, but as any parent knows, older children can
need just as much support and guidance which is why we are
exploring this idea. "
A formal consultation will be held after the results of the
review are published, to gauge the views of business, employers,
unions and other stakeholders, but their views will be taken into
account as part of the review process.
Key Statistics - Flexible Working
* Over 6 million employees have the right to request flexible
working (2.65m of these are carers of adults, 3.6m are parents of
children under six and disabled children).
* If the age limit was raised from six years old to nine years
old, an extra 1.4 million parents would benefit.
* If it was raised to children under 12, an extra 2.6 million
parents of children would benefit.
* If it was raised to children under 17, 4.5 million parents of
children would benefit.
* The 2007 Work-Life Balance Employer Survey, published today,
found the availability of flexible working arrangements has
increased since 2003. Part-time working has become near
universal, available in 92 per cent of workplaces (compared to 81
per cent in 2003). There have been particularly large increases in
the availability of reduced hours working for a limited period (74
per cent up, from 40 per cent) and compressed hours working (41
per cent, up from 19 per cent). Job sharing and flexitime have
also increased substantially (59 per cent, up from 39 per cent;
and 55 per cent, up from 38 per cent, respectively). Access the
executive summary of the third Work-Life Balance Employer Survey
at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file42220.pdf
* The Work-Life Balance Employer Survey also revealed that 92% of
employers believe that people work best when they can balance
their work and the other aspects of their lives. 92% of employers
(covering 96% of employees) said they would consider a request to
change a working pattern from any employee.
* The Workplace Employment Relations Survey in 2004 found 60 per
cent of employers reported some or a significant improvement in
staff retention and 58 per cent of employers reported some or a
significant improvement in productivity.
* The Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits: Survey of
employees 2005 found that 47% of new mothers work flex-time
compared to just 17% in 2002, and almost triple the number of new
fathers now work flexibly. The proportion of mums who have changed
their employer when returning to work has halved from 41% in 2002
to 20%.
Notes to Editors
1. Terms of Reference
"On 6 November the Prime Minister announced the
Government's intention to extend the right to request
flexible working to parents of older, teenage children.
At the same time, he said that he had appointed Imelda Walsh, HR
Director of J Sainsbury plc, to carry out an independent review.
The review will consider how the current right to request should
be extended to parents of older, teenage children, and the upper
age limit of a child which should apply.
The review will involve business representatives, unions, parents
groups and other interested parties in considering the options for change.
The reviewer will make recommendations to the Secretary of State
for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in Spring 2008.
A secretariat of BERR officials will support the independent
reviewer in developing recommendations."
2. Imelda Walsh is HR Director of Sainsbury and has considerable
experience of HR issues. She has a varied background having worked
for Barclays, Coca-Cola and Schweppes Beverages. Sainsbury's
has over 150,000 employees many of whom work under flexible
contracts to suit their family needs.
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory
Reform
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Public enquiries +44 (0)20 7215 5000
Textphone +44 (0)20 7215
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http://www.berr.gov.uk